The Puppeteer's Wishes
by LuciferIX
Summary: With the Lilly of the Valley Conference over, Ash now has to worry about what he's going to do after.  Too bad that his own choices seem to be manipulated by someone who's playing matchmaker as a way to pay him back.    Advanceshipping, SatoHaru, AshxMay
1. Chapter 1

Hello all, I'm willing to bet that most of you weren't planning on seeing that little notification in your inbox telling you about a new story from me, huh? Well I'm back. And while I am getting out of writing fanfiction and this is at least one of the last ones that I will make, I want at least one more that can possibly compete with "Reaching for the Stars". Many of the group of fellow Advanceshippers that I came into this fandom meeting have already moved on, and I'm one of the few still here.

First thing I should mention is that this fic completely disregards Unova. I don't really have much against the Black and White games, but besides the fact that I have literally no clue as to the who or where about that place to create a story including it. After I heard that they actually confirmed that Ash is still 10 at that time only confirms the already rather obvious nature that Pokémon's producers have taken towards the franchise. As such I think that it's just best to ignore it. A coming of age type of story, which is part of the way that I saw Pokémon, usually works best when the main character actually ages.

Second, considering that I've only seen about the first 40 or 50 episodes into Diamond and Pearl, my story may not entirely coincide with what is really canon, either intentionally or unintentionally. In fact I know that the results of the Lily of the Valley Conference and the Sinnoh Grand Festival aren't the same, but that was more to help with my story as a whole. After doing a little bit of research for this as to what I've missed, I am at least glad that the producers finally had him actually truly try to win a conference by using his best Pokémon, though it apparently took two legendaries to keep him from winning yet again.

Finally, because I know I always get a few PM's about this after every story, yes Glaceon is still an Eevee. Unless Pikachu is there evolving right next to her, which I've kinda come to like with my "Lucky" series, I still prefer my original Revivalshipping to any other form.

Okay so now that that's out of the way I can probably stop boring you and just get to the story. Welcome one and all to my twelfth story, "The Puppeteer's Wishes". After the ever-present disclaimer, I hope that you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Pokémon or any of the related material. All names, places, and characters are trademarked property of Satoshi Tajiri and Pokémon Co. All rights reserved.

* * *

><p>Countless voices rang out across the bright cloudless day as the final round of the Lilly of the Valley Conference was coming to a close. The weather was perfect for the yearly event, and thousands of people from all corners of Sinnoh, as well visitors from beyond the region's boarders, gathered to watch the match that was rumored to be one of the best in recent times. And from the amount of noise coming out of the main stadium it seemed that those rumors weren't letting people down.<p>

The match was still rather even, but even if both trainers were down to their last Pokémon, the red trainer's Electric-Type was still warming up into the battle while his opponent was barely on his feet after facing down two Pokémon before that. The small yellow mouse was on all fours trying to steady his breathing to ready himself for anything the other Pokémon would try to pull off, electricity still flaring from his red cheek pouches. The large purple scorpion who was across from him on the field was trying to put on a strong front. But after barely beating the Infernape before his current opponent, the claws on both his hands and his tail felt excessively heavy and he was having a hard time even keeping them up. Drapion knew that if he was able to just make it through this last Pokémon he and his trainer would be victorious.

Yet even still, after finally reaching the finals of a Regional Conference and with victory just moments away, the black haired Kanto native just couldn't bring himself to fully enjoy the fact that his long dream was finally about to come true. Sure, he still battled his hardest, and it was no easy fight to get to this point, but to Ash Ketchum there was something just a little more important than this victory going though his head. Nonetheless, while he may have wished for the circumstances to be different he still had a battle in front of him to win.

"Alright Pikachu," he told his long time friend and companion. "Time to finish this and get that trophy, Quick Attack!"

Launching himself from the ready position he was already in, Pikachu shot forward towards the Poison-Type as his image started blur from the speed.

"Drapion cover the area with a Toxic attack!" His trainer called out. "Give it no place to run!"

"Agility!"

Just as the poisonous gas came out of Drapion's mouth and started to spread out in front of him, the yellow mouse disappeared from sight and only moments later reappeared behind the scorpion.

"Drapion grab it with your tail before it can attack and use Poison Fang!"

Just after making behind his opponent, Pikachu found a pair of claws clenched around his midsection as he was lifted into the air. Giving off a short cry of pain, the Mouse Pokémon could feel the poison start to course through his body and cause the pain to spread past just the initial injury. It didn't take long before every part of his body started to feel as though it was burning from the inside out.

"Concentrate Pikachu!" Ash yelled out. "I know it hurts but grab on and give him your best Thunderbolt!"

"Toss it into the Toxic cloud, now!"

Arching his tail over his head, Drapion tried to throw his unwilling passenger away. But when he released his grip, the mouse didn't go flying. As his trainer has ordered, Pikachu was holding on to the sharp claws that were once holding him.

Even under the intense pain from the poison injected into him Pikachu managed to hold on by biting the tail claw that once griped his body. Grinning at his opponent through the pain, the Electric-Type emptied what remained in his cheek pouches into Drapion, lighting him up like a light bulb.

As fast as it appeared, the light from the attack dimmed away. Finally letting go, Pikachu dropped down to the ground and slowly made his way over to his trainer. It wasn't until he was halfway back that the Poison-Type finally collapsed, completely out cold.

"And there you have it folks!" The announcer called out. "Drapion is down, and with that being his last Pokémon, David Summers cannot continue. That means that the winner of this round, and the newest champion of the Sinnoh League, is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

* * *

><p>"Just hang tight Pikachu, you'll feel better in just a moment."<p>

Spraying various medicines over his wounds, Pikachu could barely keep from squirming as the disinfectant stung his cuts and bruises.

"Pikaaa!" The Pokémon yelled out after the potion hit an especially raw spot.

"Sorry Buddy," Ash apologized after stopping the spray. "That last Poison Claw got you pretty good, and it's kinda deep here. You know that the pain is only temporary and that you need this done."

Gritting his teeth, Pikachu endured the last few spots as Ash finished off the first aid.

"One last piece, open wide."

Putting the antidote tablet in Pikachu's mouth, the Electric-Type chewed a couple times before swallowing the slightly disgusting medicine.

"There," Ash said with a sigh as he started to put everything away. "Although I'll still have to take you to the Pokémon Center, that should be about it." But once his attention was no longer focused on Pikachu, the trainer's mind returned to his last win and the frustration started to build up within him again. It wasn't the fact that he won which was frustrating him; in fact he was ecstatic beyond belief, but no matter what it just felt like a hollow victory.

"Congratulations Ash!"

"Piplup pip!"

"Buneary bun!"

"Congratulations on your first league victory Ash."

Bursting into the trainer's prep room, Ash's two traveling companions could barely contain their enthusiasm. Although the trainer let out a large sigh as his female companion came in dressed in her cheerleader outfit, even her ever present starter and Buneary were dressed in the same getup.

"Do you really need to dress like that for every battle?" He asked Dawn. "It's kinda embarrassing."

"Yep!" The peppy blunette responded giving a small twirl. "But still, congratulations!"

"Yeah thanks," the trainer told her with a small sigh.

"You're still not over it, are you Ash?" Brock finally asked.

"Oh come on, you won!" Dawn tried to reason with him. "Why are you still acting like this?"

"Because," Ash said with an annoyed look on his face. "It wasn't him that I beat."

"You can't always have it your way Ash," Ash's older companion explained. "Just because you didn't get to face Paul doesn't mean that you should act like this. Paul made it to the semi-finals; he was just not in the same half of the tournament as you were. But if you look at it another way, you beat him indirectly by beating the trainer that beat him."

"It's just still not the same," Ash countered before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. "I'm going out for a walk."

Grabbing Pikachu the trainer headed straight out the door, not even bothering to listen to what Dawn and Brock were trying to say.

* * *

><p>"Twenty bucks says that he went looking for Paul."<p>

"I'm not taking that bet Dawn, cause you know as well as I do that's exactly what he's doing."

It was nearly an hour since Ash walked out of the trainer's prep room. Even though his two friends followed him right out the door, in the sea of people exiting the stadium it didn't take long for them to lose sight of him.

"Can you see him Piplup?" Dawn asked her starter.

"Pip lup pip lup." Standing on her trainer's shoulders the Water-Type kept scanning the crowd, looking for either the trainer in question or Pikachu. "Piplup!"

"You found him?"

"Piplup," she nodded while pointing in the direction of what they all hoped was Ash.

Walking toward where the Penguin Pokémon indicated, it didn't take long until the crowd opened up revealing a defiant looking Ash in front of none other than Paul, who, despite having his primary rival only feet from him staring him down, looked as uncaring as ever. The two trainers were near one of the larger fountains located around the arena, and sitting on the edge of that fountain was Pikachu, idly watching the two boys. Still obviously tired from the earlier match.

"Come on Paul," Ash tried to reason with him. "You've got to be as annoyed as I am. Let's just have one battle, all out six on six. I'll even agree to give you the Lilly of the Valley Conference Trophy if you win."

"And why should I?" Paul simply asked, clearly unimpressed at his offer. "You won the tournament, so why should you care about beating someone who didn't get past the semi-finals?"

"It's the principle of the matter!" Ash nearly yelled. "What's the point of winning if I can't go up against you?"

"Sorry, not interested," the purple haired trainer responded. "Now if you excuse me, I have better things to do. Why don't you go find someone else to annoy?"

"Wait Paul!" Even as his rival continued to walk away from him, Ash couldn't move. Although he didn't like the idea of it, Ash knew that if Paul didn't want to battle there was no way that he would be able to convince him otherwise.

Finally looking up and seeing his friends, Ash virtually collapsed down onto the fountain resting his head in his hands.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Brock asked as he walked up to the black haired boy. "Paul obviously doesn't care about a match between you and him as much as you do. And you can't force him to do it."

"Yeah I know," Ash flatly stated. "It's just… it's just that after everything he's said as we've traveled through Sinnoh, I wanted to finally show him that my way of training isn't the wrong way. From the first time we met he looked down on me at every turn because we didn't train our Pokémon the same way, and I just felt like I had to show him that I was better than what he put me at."

"I think he's at least considering that Ash," Brock told the younger man. "You still won and it's not hard to see that he is envious of that. He's thinking quite a bit about this, whether he shows it or not."

"Really?" After hearing that, Ash couldn't help but perk up.

"How can he not?" Dawn added in. "I mean, even if he didn't think highly of you the fact remains that you won and he didn't."

Sighing deeply, Ash could feel those statements digging in. Even if he still wasn't satisfied with how things went he now had to think about what happens next.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Looking up the three travelers and their two Pokémon saw a tall lady with long blonde hair dressed in black walking towards them.

"Cynthia!" Ash said with a surprised look on his face as he got up to greet the newcomer. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to personally congratulate you Ash," she told him. "Is something wrong? You don't look like someone who just finally won a regional tournament."

"No I'm fine; it's just… well let's just say there was one person I wanted to personally defeat in this year's tournament but didn't get the chance to."

"Ah, I see. Yeah that isn't the best feeling is it?" The blonde confided with a knowing smile. "But life goes on, and you'll always have another chance to challenge them in the future."

"True."

"But on to other business," Cynthia said in a more upbeat tone. "First of all I came to make sure that you haven't forgotten about the trophy ceremony that will be happening soon. Considering you are going to be the guest of honor we can't have you being late. And second I was wondering if you had an idea of when you wanted to schedule our battle."

"Our battle?" Ash was completely confused at the thought. All of his focus as of late was to win the tournament and to battle Paul.

"I can't believe that you seriously forgot," Brock said with a sigh. "There are two reasons that trainers enter the regional conferences. The first is of course claiming the title of Tournament Champion for the year. The second is the ability to challenge the regional Elite Four along with the current reigning regional champion to an official battle and claim that title for yourself."

"I did forget," the trainer said with a nervous chuckle. "I've been so focused on only winning that I forgot the other perks that come along with that win."

"So now that you've remembered, when do you think would be a good time for our match?" Cynthia restated. "Because even if it'll take a few days to prepare, there are many people who are already waiting to hear when the date for our match will be decided." Suddenly looking down at her watch, the blonde's eyes went wide. "But we'll probably have to leave that for later," she said while grabbing Ash's wrist. "In the meantime we need to get to the ceremony."

Barely resisting her, Ash followed the Sinnoh Champion back to the stadium with Pikachu and the rest of his friends close behind him.

"I hope you can deal with the life of a celebrity Ash," Cynthia said with a smile. "Because in a few hours your name will be at virtually every corner in Sinnoh, and you'll probably have a lot of fans popping up from now on."

"Fans?" Ash questioned with some uncertainty as they walked through the large double doors into the stadium.

* * *

><p>Closing the door behind him, Ash walked into his private room in the Pokémon Center and immediately collapsed onto the bed after putting his new trophy down near his bag. Climbing up onto the bed next to him, Pikachu curled up next to his trainer to finally rest.<p>

"Now I know what she meant by dealing with the life of a celebrity," Ash groaned. "I think that we need to get out of Sinnoh Buddy, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle this."

"Pika pika," the small Pokémon agreed.

"I never knew girls could get that crazy, or at least that type of crazy…"

Staring up at the ceiling, he was at least starting to get Paul out of his mind but the bittersweet feeling just didn't want to leave his system. Almost unconsciously he reached into the side pocket of his jeans and pulled out the item inside. Holding it up in front of him, the golden surface shined brightly in the evening light that was coming though his open window as a soft breeze ruffled the red and pink stripped ribbon attached to it. For the first time in several days he gave off a genuine smile as he looked into his reflection of the ribbon and memories flooded back into his head. Even Pikachu looked up at the ribbon as his own set of memories returned.

But Ash was only able to gaze at his precious possession for a few moments before a rapid set of knocks resonated from his door. Quickly retracting his hand back into his pocket he hid the item just as the door swung open revealing Dawn and her Piplup.

"Hey Ash, you have a phone call," she informed him.

"A phone call?" Ash asked as he pulled his hand back out of his pocket. "I thought I asked Nurse Joy not to accept any calls for me."

Giving off a mischievous smile, Dawn started to walk back to the door.

"Don't worry Ash," she said. "It's not some stranger. In fact you know them quite well."

"Who?"

"You'll see," the blunette told him in a sing song voice.

"Oh come on Dawn," Ash pleaded while grabbing Pikachu and following her out the door.

"I'm not saying; you'll just need to find out for yourself. But here's a bit of advice," Dawn continued while walking down the hallway to the center's main room. "If you want to try and keep your little treasure a secret you might want to try and lock the door next time."

In a burst of laughter Dawn took off down the hallway running leaving a flushed red Ash in her wake.

"Dawn!" He yelled out while running after her while cradling Pikachu in his arms. "Get back here! What else do you know about that?"

Chasing after the blunette the two eventually make it to the main room of the Pokémon Center, but a new voice made them both stop dead in their tracks.

"Hey you two, no running in the Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy yelled at them from behind the front desk. "I don't care if you're the new champion or not, you'll still obey the rules here!"

Quickly apologizing, the two companions walked over to the video phones, where at the moment the only one in use was occupied by Brock. Although his head and body were blocking the screen so Ash couldn't see who he was talking to.

Before they got up behind him though, Dawn straightened up and with another mischievous smile whispered into his ear before heading back to her own room.

"You know, you won't be able to move forward if all you do is look at the ribbon."

Before Ash could even respond Dawn was virtually skipping across the room and down the hallway.

"Night Ash," she waved nonchalantly before disappearing. "Congratulations again on your win."

"_It's times like this that I wonder how much that girl really knows,"_ Ash thought as we watched the blunette. _"And I still don't like that smile of hers."_

Looking back at the monitor his eyes nearly lit up as he saw who Brock was talking to.

Turning around in his chair Brock gave a small smile as he got up and headed for his own room.

"I'll leave you two alone now," he said before leaving. "Just remember Ash, we have an early morning tomorrow."

"Yeah thanks," Ash responded almost unconsciously as he sat down.

Looking into the monitor, an old friend smiled right back at the trainer. While the young lady didn't look exactly like when he first met her, nearly every detail was just how Ash remembered her in his head. She was still wearing the green bandana and orange blouse that he last saw her in, but his eyes were fixed on his friend's exuberant face.

"Hi May," he finally said.

"Hey Ash," May said back, barely able to contain her apparent excitement. "Congratulations on your win! I wish I could have been there to see it."

"Thanks," just seeing her smiling face made Ash's mood rise instantly. "I wish you could have been here too, but how did you know about this? I mean it was only a few hours ago that the tournament ended."

"It's called the internet Ash," the brunette told him with a laugh. "You should try it out sometime, it can tell you quite a bit."

"Oh yeah, guess I forgot about that," Ash responded with a nervous laugh of his own. "Well you know I've never been good with computers and such."

"All too well Ash, all too well. Actually I was watching it live the whole time, it would have been nice if I could have watched it on TV but they didn't have it on any of the Johto stations. Besides, Dawn was keeping me up to date with all of the details every night."

"Wait you've been talking to her every night?" Although he tried to hide it, May could see that he was a little upset with this discovery.

"Yeah we've been talking on and off since the Wallace Cup," she explained with a knowing smile on her face. "And I asked her to call me every night to keep me informed about how you were doing. I wanted you to be able to focus solely on your battles, so sorry if you took that the wrong way."

"No that's okay May, but next time you can just call me and not just get everything from Dawn. Talking to old friends will never make me lose focus."

"Sure Ash, I'll make sure to remember that," May agreed. "So how is Pikachu doing? That last hit seemed pretty bad."

"He's fine," Ash told her while giving a light scratch to the Pokémon in his lap. "He won't be battling for a few days but it's nothing serious. Isn't that right Buddy?"

Looking down after no receiving an answer, the trainer found his Pokémon staring intently at the screen. His eyes seemingly searching for something.

"Well he seems a little preoccupied," the trainer concluded, though he had a good idea as to why. "So did you just get back from a round in the Grand Festival? Because usually you have at least Eevee next to you."

May's mood seemed to fall for a moment before looking back up at Ash with her normal smile.

"Yeah you could say that," she told him. "Although my Pokémon are just back in my room, not with Nurse Joy. So what are you planning to do now that you've finally won?"

"That's actually a good question, what am I going to do?" Ash asked nobody as he sat back in his chair, lightly chuckling to himself.

"Ash?"

"Sorry, I just have a good amount on my mind at the moment."

"Care to share some of it?" The brunette asked. "It always helps me just saying it out loud to others."

"Sure, why not," he said after only slight hesitation. "You remember my stories about Paul right? In case not, he's the trainer that I kept on meeting up with around Sinnoh and the one who always seemed to talk down to me just because we both think differently on how to train Pokémon."

"Yeah, I think I do at least."

"Well, ever since I met him I've wanted to have a real battle with him. Of course I wanted to win to show that my way of thinking was in no way weak, but just an official battle between us would have been good enough. I always found that it was easier to understand people with a Pokémon battle for some reason, so I was hoping this could have just been like all the other times."

"And?" May asked as Ash seemed to pause in thought.

"And it never happened. While he made it to the semi-finals, he was in the other bracket, and he lost. So while I beat the guy that beat him, it still isn't the same."

"So just find and ask him for a battle," the coordinator suggested. Though when Ash didn't respond it didn't take long for her realize why. "But if it was that easy you wouldn't be as bothered as you are."

"You're right. After the finals I found him and challenged him to a battle, even putting my title as the new champion up for the prize. He outright denied me and just walked off."

"Sorry to hear that Ash, but until he changes his mind there isn't anything you can really do."

"Yeah I know, Brock said pretty much the same thing. But because of that my win today still seems bittersweet. And for some reason I just feel that I can't make my other decision before finishing things up with him."

"Other decision?"

"When I won the Lilly of the Valley Conference I got the chance to challenge the Sinnoh Elite Four and Cynthia, the current Sinnoh Champion, for her position," Ash explained, looking down at Pikachu while slowly petting him.

"Oh wow! I didn't realize that you get that too if you win, so why don't you… oh," May paused as she realized why he was worried about it. "So if you accept that challenge you feel that you're accepting that you beat Paul, even if part of you still wants to prove that by actually battling him. Am I right?"

Looking back up at May, Ash blinked a few times trying to first comprehend her comment, and second to figure out if she actually was correct.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, that might be right," Ash said after a while.

"Personally I think that you should take the chance and go for it."

"I want to agree with you May, but… I just don't know. I want to challenge Cynthia, that's one thing that I know for sure. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to do it now." Sighing, the trainer was starting to feel overwhelmed. "Sorry but I think I'm going to have to sleep on it."

"No that's okay Ash; you've probably had a busy day so that would be for the best."

"Thanks May," Ash finally said to her. "I always feel better after talking with you. Now that we both have a break maybe we can get together sometime soon, just to catch up in person. I'd love to hear about everything that happened in Johto."

"Yeah that would be great Ash," May told him, her smile falling just slightly. "I'll talk to you later then, goodnight Ash."

"Night May."

Disconnecting the call, Ash finally felt a large yawn come upon him.

"Well Buddy, time for us to go to sleep," he told the Pokémon in his lap. "I'm still kinda surprised that she and Dawn have been talking as much as they apparently have. But it would still be great if we could see her again."

After picking his partner up and noticing that Pikachu was barely paying attention to him, Ash chuckled a bit.

"You were looking pretty hard there for something while May and I were talking, weren't you Pikachu?"

"Pi?" Stiffening slightly, Pikachu looked up at his best friend and a few nervous laughs escaped his lips. Giving off a big yawn of his own, the Electric-Type nonchalantly snuggled into his trainer's arms.

"Uh-huh, trying to pretend you didn't hear that right? Don't worry Pikachu, I think I have a good idea as to what you were looking for and it's nothing to ashamed about." Reaching down into his pocket, Ash let his fingers curl around the item inside of it. "I'm not sure what's going to happen next but at least our friends will be right there with us. Some closer than others, and others we wish closer than they were, but our journeys continue and we'll cross paths again. Eventually."

Withdrawing his hand, Ash started walking back towards his room, finally ready for a nice long sleep.

* * *

><p>This story has gone quite a bit longer than I originally thought so the pace might be a little slow at times. And as usual after a long time off I usually think that my skills have become rusty, but that idea is almost always shot down by reviewers so I leave that decision up to you. I welcome any and all reviews, both from new readers and old friends, and will gladly answer any questions that you may have.<p>

As a reminder, I like to post my updates every other day and this is no exception. So expect chapter two up in a couple days.


	2. Chapter 2

Well of course thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter. As always, here's number two.

* * *

><p>As he opened the blinds to his room Ash stretched his body feeling quite refreshed after the night's sleep. Although he wasn't able to think too much about what he would do about the battles with Cynthia and the Elite Four, having fallen fast asleep almost as soon as he got back to his room, the trainer was actually surprised at how calm he felt when the question arose.<p>

Walking back to the bed he found his little partner still curled up next to his pillow, breathing softly. Between Ash preparing for his day and the bright morning light, neither was apparently enough to wake him from his sleep. But it wasn't all that surprising, if Ash had his choice every day would be like that. The only problem was that especially during times like this he couldn't afford to sleep in.

"_The life of a Pokémon must be such an easy one,"_ he found himself thinking. _"Well then again after all the battles we go through I guess they deserve it in the end."_

With a small smile on his face, Ash decided to finish up packing his things to give Pikachu those last few minutes of rest. But even that could only last so long. All he had to do was grab his old clothes and put them in his bag, making sure to take his ribbon out of the old pair of pants, and tidy up the rest of the room.

Putting his backpack on, Ash picked up his partner and started heading down to the cafeteria where Brock and Dawn were waiting for him.

"Alright Pikachu, time to wake up. No matter how today goes it's going to be important."

Suddenly finding himself moving, the Electric-Type drowsily opened his eyes just as the door to their room closed behind them. Looking up he saw the familiar face of his trainer and it took him a bit to realize that he was in Pikapi's arms. Giving off a large yawn he relaxed back into his spot, closing his eyes. He didn't feel like going back to sleep but didn't want to completely wake up just yet.

"Pika pika Pikapi?" The Pokémon sleepily asked.

"Let you sleep longer? I did let you sleep in; I've been awake for the past half-hour getting things done while you just slept there curled up and cozy."

"Chu."

"Oh sure, this is the thanks I get," Ash responded with a light laugh.

Walking into the large room with Pikachu still half-asleep in his arms, Ash quickly found Brock sitting at one of the tables. Dawn on the other hand was nowhere in sight.

"Morning Brock," he said while sitting down.

"Morning Ash. Is there something wrong with Pikachu or is he just…"

"Tired," Ash finished for his friend. "I'd want to say lazy but after yesterday I think all of my Pokémon deserve to be able to do this today."

"You won't hear me saying that they don't," Brock joked. "So I assume you slept well?"

"Better than I thought," the trainer grinned. "I fell right asleep once I got back."

"How long were you on the phone for? Cause you still seemed pretty tense when I left you."

"Not long actually, I just felt unusually relaxed when I hung up. What?"

Noticing Brock chuckle softly, Ash just couldn't understand the reason as to why.

"So where is Dawn?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Probably sleeping in just like Pikachu. Although it probably won't be too long before she wakes up."

Nodding, Ash put Pikachu down on the table before getting up to grab some breakfast.

After coming back with a plateful of waffles, a couple muffins, an extra large cinnamon roll, and polished off with a large glass of fresh orange juice; Ash found that Pikachu was no longer alone on the top of the table where he had left him. Poking the poor mouse with her fin was Piplup, seemingly enjoying the fact that every time she poked him, Pikachu just groaned and tried to brush away whatever was touching him with his paw.

"Alright Pikachu I think you can wake up now," Ash told him while sitting down. "And Dawn, could you get Piplup to stop that?"

"Sorry Ash," the blunette apologized while grabbing her starter. "Although in her defense, Pikachu's reaction was rather funny. Especially since he's been doing the exact same thing for almost a few minutes."

"Yeah yeah, here Pikachu this should perk you up a little." Putting a plate down next to his own starter, Pikachu's nose twitched a few times before finally opening his eyes again to look at what his trainer brought him. Seeing that it was none other than a Pecha Berry Muffin, his all time favorite, his eyes and ears perked up instantly.

"Pika!"

Quickly moving up to the food, the Electric-Type unwrapped the muffin and took a large bite. Savoring the taste Pikachu looked as though he was in second heaven while the muffin quickly disappeared right before everyone's eyes. Moments after it was gone Pikachu gave a large sigh while licking his lips and his paws for any residual crumbs. After they were all gone, the mouse's head was up and looking around at everyone there.

"Pikapi!"

Jumping over onto his trainer's shoulder, he rubbed up against Ash's cheek looking as happy as ever.

"Like Pokémon like trainer," Dawn laughed while watching Pikachu's antics.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ash shot back at her.

"If you need to ask, then explaining would be useless."

Growling at his traveling companion, she just smiled back at him as she and Piplup went to grab some food of her own.

"I don't act like that, do I?" Ash asked Brock after the blunette was gone while scratching underneath Pikachu's chin.

"I've learned never to underestimate what can happen when something comes between you and food Ash," Brock truthfully answered. "And for that matter May can come pretty close to you at times."

"Now in May's defense she just has a healthy appetite," Ash countered. "It's not like she eats that more than anyone else."

"And just who are you comparing it to anyways? Yourself?

Ash opened his mouth to respond but after nothing came out closed it again.

"I guess," he finally said while taking a bite of the cinnamon roll.

"Don't worry Ash," Brock told him with a big smile. "You both just have a big appetite…"

"That can be an understatement at times," Dawn interrupted him while sitting back down.

"But," Brock continued, firmly emphasizing the word. "It's not like it's a bad thing. For either of you."

"Either of you?" Dawn asked while taking a spoonful of cereal. "Who can even come close to Ash?"

"May."

"Oh yeah, I've heard stories about that. Especially with noodles if I remember correctly. Of course most of these stories about May have come from Ash," the blunette grinned, making sure to keep from looking at the trainer.

But after all the time she had traveled with Ash she didn't need to see to be able to know how he would react.

Clearing his throat Ash tried to act as though the statement didn't mean anything. Giving the last portion of his roll to Pikachu, who gladly accepted the frosting covered morsel, he started on the stack of waffles.

"What can I say," he finally said. "We talk about our old journeys quite often and seeing as how May and Max have been our most recent companions I can remember those moments the most."

"Among other reasons," Dawn casually added, noticing that, while it wasn't too obvious, Ash was getting a little anxious.

Of course he did have quite a bit going about in his head beyond the obvious dilemmas involved with winning the Sinnoh League. For the past few months, and looking back on it probably ever since the Wallace Cup, Dawn was asking more and more about May. Most of it was simple questions about her coordinating style but there was also several about just general things that Ash remembered about their travels together. Slowly during that time the trainer was growing increasingly worried about Dawn, the real problem was that he wasn't always sure why. The only things he could ever pinpoint was a specific mischievous smile that she sometimes had on her face, like she currently did, and some of her more recent comments about May have got him wondering how much she actually knew after all of the stories, and more importantly exactly what she assumed off of them.

"But there's a more important question that needs to be answered," Dawn stated after handing the last of the Pokémon food to Piplup. While she enjoyed seeing Ash become uneasy by simply saying the right things, she never meant any of it maliciously. So she always brought it to a certain point before letting him off the hook. "Assuming you've come to terms with the fact that you couldn't face Paul, what are you planning to do about your battle with Cynthia?"

Finishing off the last of his waffles, Ash was glad that she changed the subject. Although every time she brought up the topic of May like that and dropped it just as fast, he could never figure out what was going through that head of hers. But usually when people mentioned May in that manner it was always to imply that he had feelings of more than just friendship towards her. Which of course he didn't, and he was quick to remind anyone who said otherwise. She was his best friend, not his girlfriend.

"To be honest, I don't know," the trainer replied while cleaning up a few crumbs from Pikachu's fur.

"Wait, you don't know?" Dawn asked, honestly surprised at his response. "You're going to have to meet with her in less than an hour and you'll need to give her an answer."

"Dawn's right Ash," Brock added in. "And it's not just between you two that you need to make a decision. That fight is almost as big an event as the conference itself for the top trainers in Sinnoh. They are all waiting to be able to see how you do on the next level of battles."

"Yeah I know, it's not like I don't understand that," Ash told his two friends. "While I can't say that I thought about it while I was in the finals, it really hit me hard afterwards. I just have a feeling that I'll know exactly what I want to do when we finally meet up with her."

Groaning loudly Dawn was visibly annoyed at the trainer's response.

"You're way too carefree at times Ash," she told him.

"But that's Ash for you," Brock laughed. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I," Ash said while looking down at Pikachu.

"What time were you supposed to meet up with Cynthia anyways?" The older male asked.

Bringing out his Pokédex, Ash opened it up and looked at the digital clock inside.

"I have about a half-hour to go to the main stadium," he responded. "She didn't really tell me much more than that."

"Then if everyone is ready I think we should head out so that we can make it in time."

Collecting their plates, Brock brought the dishes back to front while Ash and Dawn grabbed their starters and the three of them started to head out the door to the stadium.

Normally it would have only been a couple minute walk from the Pokémon Center to the stadium but as soon as Ash appeared on the main pathway he became surrounded by his new fans, both male and female alike; although the latter seemed to fawn over him with his new status compared to his Pokémon and battles like the former.

"Okay thank you everyone," Ash nervously said to a particularly large crowd which separated him from his friends. "But I really need to get going."

"Oh wow is that your Pikachu?" One of the closer girls commented while trying to get a better look at the Pokémon. "He's so cute!"

"Pika pika," the Electric-Type bashfully responded while rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah I've heard that one before," Ash muttered to himself, trying to back away from the people.

"So how did you make your Pokémon so powerful?" Another of the fans asked, a boy this time, who looked just a year or two younger than Ash.

"Well…"

"Where did you come up with that combo you used with Infernape?"

"That one I…"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Alright mister you're coming with me."

Suddenly feeling a hand grab his left wrist, Ash was quickly dragged to the edge of the crowd. But with the distinctive blue hair and Piplup riding along on the girl's head, Ash didn't even second guess as to who was pulling him along. Although the crowd seemed to move slightly with him, Dawn did her best to help get Ash out of there and keep moving.

For the most part Ash just followed her lead, but before they completely exited the crowd he felt her hand start to slide down his wrist slightly until it got to his hand, and a faint red blush formed across his face as Dawn intertwined her fingers in his. Her hand felt very soft for some reason, and warm too, but then again he never really held hands with a girl before. When they finally got out Dawn pulled the trainer a little closer so that, while they were still walking at a brisk pace, the two walked side by side.

Even Ash could feel the glares starting to come from the crowd behind him, and it wasn't just from one gender. Many of the girls were instantly jealous of the fact that another girl just came in and pulled the rather roughly handsome looking new champion away while walking hand-in-hand. The boys on the other hand caught flashes of the cute girl who suddenly appeared with him; some even started to remember her in her cheering outfit during the finals yesterday. Either way there was a lot of mumbling going on but few chose to follow them.

"Um Dawn?" Ash hesitantly asked. "Why are you…?"

"Just be quiet for now," the blunette quickly responded.

Even if they were walking side-by-side, Ash couldn't see the girl's face; partially due to the slight height difference and partially because her hair seemed to be covering the side just enough to block his view.

After that large crowd there were only sparse amounts of people that came up to him, but most seemed to keep some distance while whispering amongst themselves. And in no time they reached their destination where Brock was already waiting.

"You made it just in time it seems," he told his younger companions. "You might want to head in there and do what you came to do Ash."

"Right."

Looking down between him and Dawn he could see that she still hadn't let go of his hand.

"Um, Dawn? Thanks for getting me out of that situation but you can probably let go of my hand now."

Almost as if she was just realizing it herself, Dawn quickly pulled away.

"Oh, sorry Ash," the coordinator said while turning away from him.

"No that's okay; you were able to get me out of that group and here on time."

Running the last few steps, Ash entered the large double glass doors and went up to the receptionist's desk.

Lagging behind, Dawn was looking at her right hand almost as if it had just suddenly appeared for the first time, a deep red blush still lingering across her face and her heart still pounding against her chest.

"Piplup pip."

Piplup was standing on her head looking at her trainer's face, wondering exactly what was going on.

"You know if you actually feel like that you might want to say something."

Jumping slightly in surprise Dawn looked behind her to find Brock still outside.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about," she stuttered.

"Oh I think you do," he told the coordinator. "I may not be that successful at getting it myself but I'm not blind when it comes to others."

Sighing, Dawn looked back up at the stadium, past the doors, to see Ash jogging down one of the side hallways.

"Maybe," she finally said with a small half-smile. "Right now I just see him as the big brother I never had and I'll do everything I can to help him as much as he's helped me. But even if it was beyond that point, which I'm not even sure it is, he has his eyes set elsewhere."

* * *

><p>Entering the large building Ash walked up to the receptionist sitting behind the counter.<p>

"Hi my name is Ash Ketchum and I was told that I was supposed to meet with Cynthia here," he told the middle aged lady who currently was busy typing something up on the computer.

Looking up the receptionist gave him a big smile.

"Yes she has been expecting you." Standing up, she leaned over the desk. "If you follow that hallway," she pointed off to one of hallways on the left. "You'll find a set of elevators. Take them to the third floor and then take a right. She's waiting in room 314."

"Thank you," Ash told the lady as he jogged down the hallway she indicated.

Hitting the up button on the elevator, Ash could feel himself getting impatient knowing that soon he'll have to make his decision. But for the time being he kept his mind occupied with another thought.

"_314, 314, 314, 314."_

Ash had never been the greatest at directions so he had to make sure that he wouldn't forget this one.

Hearing the distinct chime of the elevator, he watched as the doors quietly slid open. Stepping in Ash pushed the button for the third floor and soon after the doors closed again flowed by the sudden motion as the counterbalance took over and began bringing him up to the floor he wanted.

It wasn't long before the elevator chimed again and the doors opened to reveal a small carpeted lobby with hallways extending off in both directions. Doors dominated both sides of the hallway and Ash could only assume that these were the main offices of the Sinnoh League's Administration.

"Pikapi."

Hearing Pikachu's voice snapped Ash back to reality.

"Heh, sorry Pikachu," he told his partner with a touch of embarrassment in his voice. Facing himself down the right hallway, Ash stopped dead in his tracks. "Now what room was it again?"

Sighing deeply at the forgetful nature of his best friend, Pikachu could only wonder how he got this far as it is.

"Pi pi chu."

"Right 314."

Walking down the hall Ash counted the doors until he finally reached the one he wanted.

"Room 314," he told himself, hesitating slightly. "I just hope I make the right choice."

"Pikachu Pikapi," the small Pokémon reassured his partner.

"Thanks Buddy. I needed that."

Taking a deep breath the trainer grabbed the door handle and opened it. Walking inside, Ash found himself in an executive type meeting room. A large stained wood table surrounded by plush black leather office chairs dominated the center of the room. On the far side the entire wall was glass windows perfectly overlooking the battle ring. In the head chair sat Cynthia, leaning back and reading a book.

Looking up from her book as she heard the door open, the blonde haired champion smiled as she saw Ash step into the room.

"Looks like you made it," she told him while putting down her book. Noticing that he was enjoying the sight as soon as he walked in, she got up from her chair and walked over to him. "Do you like the view from up here?"

"Yeah, this is virtually perfect," Ash responded while stepping closer to the windows.

While the inside told the current use of the room, the view said otherwise. It was located just high enough that you were close to the action but far enough up that you could see the whole field without problem. And to make it even better, this room in particular was sitting almost exactly on the center of the fiend between the two trainers' starting positions. So in the end the room was also like a first-class private box to watch the tournament, and considering it looked as though they covered the whole floor around the entire stadium with rooms like this, it wouldn't have been all that surprising if some of them were used as such.

"If I'm not down on the field, this is my favorite spot to watch the battles here. This room is actually my personal one that they have reserved for anything that I need when I come to the tournament grounds," she told him. "It was also from here that I watched the last tournament. And depending on how you decide to take your future there's just as good a chance that one day you could be right here watching aspiring trainers as they pass through."

"My future." While still staring out the window, Ash reached over and started to scratch Pikachu in between the ears. "Before yesterday I barely thought of it. Sure Scott offered me a spot as Frontier Brain, but after learning about the Sinnoh Region I couldn't just sit back and take his offer. Now I've finally won a regional conference and it's the first major step at becoming the top trainer in the world, but at the same time I'm running out of local regions to compete in and, while I want to do it eventually, I don't think I'm ready to start visiting the other countries just yet."

"So what is your dream then?" Cynthia finally asked. "Is it just to become the best trainer in the world? Or is there more to it?"

"My dream was to be a Pokémon Master," Ash told her with a big smile. "Or at least it was when I set out. But it was about when I won the Kanto Battle Frontier, and getting offered to settle down a bit to become the Frontier Brain, that I started to think, what does it mean to actually be a Pokémon Master? Is it just becoming an unbeatable trainer? Is it capturing one of every Pokémon discovered? Or is it just becoming best friends with every Pokémon that you do capture, regardless of the outcome of your battles? After thinking about it on and off while in Sinnoh I've decided that I can just refine the answer without changing my dream. The first thing is my relationship with my Pokémon, to be able to understand them so that we can battle together as equals."

"Pikachu!" The small Pokémon cheered while holding his fingers out in a 'V'.

"Yep, you're right Pikachu. That one I'm pretty confident that I've accomplished. Next I've decided that I want to become the number one trainer in both Kanto and the surrounding regions, and this is my first major step into achieving that. Finally the last part is to make myself known as an internationally renowned trainer."

"I'm surprised," Cynthia said after listening to his explanation. "After wanting to become the best around here you aren't going to be aiming for the best in the world?"

"Oh don't worry, that goes through my mind quite often," Ash chuckled. "But that's far enough down the line that I should just look at what's in front of me. Once I can become known worldwide I'll probably start focusing on that final goal. Or maybe something else will come up before then and I'll feel that I should focus on that instead. So because of this, I know now that I can only plan ahead so far."

"And that is one of the best answers I've heard every time I've asked that question to the new conference champions."

"Really?"

Looking back at the blonde haired lady, Ash seemed rather surprised at hearing her say that. Especially considering that she was the first one he told that to.

"While it is never bad to aim high you need to realize that life changes. There are times that something will happen and suddenly it becomes your top priority. Life is chaotic; embrace it along with the here and now. But whatever you decide on, make sure that, even if it gets put off for months or even years at a time, you accomplish those ambitions."

"Thanks Cynthia," the younger trainer said. "Even if you didn't mean to do it, talking about this has actually allowed me to make my decision."

"Well that's good to hear. And on that note, we have business to attend to." Straightening her pose, she started to talk in a more official tone. "Ash Ketchum, as of yesterday you are now the new Champion of the Sinnoh League, and you have the chance to challenge the Sinnoh Elite Four as well as me, the Sinnoh Champion, to an official match. If you are able to beat all of us you will obtain my title as the Sinnoh Champion. So, have you decided if you want to take this challenge? And if so, when?"

* * *

><p>Still going a little slow but a small cliffhanger is fun to add here and there. See you in another couple days.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

I never did like the idea of Ash going to be a "Pokémon Master", it was just too ambiguous. Especially because the show never actually said exactly what it was. So I decided to use part of my own view that I developed for Ash in a previous series to flesh that out a bit. And apparently many of you liked that little idea of Ash's.

But enough about that, thanks again to everyone who reviewed. Now onto chapter three.

* * *

><p>"The receptionist said room 314, right?" Dawn asked.<p>

"Yep, and it should be right over there," Brock pointed out.

"I wonder if Ash is done talking to Cynthia yet," the blunette asked nobody in particular as they approached the door. "And even what he's decided."

"Not sure, but knowing Ash he'll probably be more than excited to go up against them as soon as possible."

Opening the door the two friends found Ash and Cynthia still talking.

"Cynthia I know that I definitely want to challenge yourself and the Elite Four," Ash told the blonde haired trainer. "But I don't think I'm ready just quite yet."

"Wait, what?"

Looking up, Ash and Cynthia just noticed that they had company.

"Why are you saying that Ash?" Dawn asked. "I figured that you of all people would be ready to jump at the chance to face them."

"Don't worry Dawn I have no intention of passing on this opportunity," Ash reassured her. "But I just don't feel as though I can fight them right now. I think some if it still has to do with Paul, but I also think that my Pokémon and I aren't ready for a battle like that just yet."

"So that is your decision then Ash?" Cynthia asked.

"Yes, it is."

Giving a soft smile the blonde haired trainer nodded. "Very well then, by the league rules you have up until the next Lilly of the Valley Conference to have the battles. After that you'll need to win the conference again to try again next year. Besides that, the only rule is that you need to contact either me or the administration two weeks prior to the day that you want to start the challenge. It's a five day event in which you face a trainer each day in battle conditions of their choosing. You will receive information about each battle the day before, so plan accordingly. Any questions?"

"I think I'm good," Ash told her, chuckling lightly.

"_I just hope that I at least remember the two week part."_

"Alright then," Cynthia concluded as she went to grab her book and walk out the door. "On that note, I hope to see you sometime within the next year. Good luck in your training."

Watching her leave, Brock and Dawn were silent for a moment as Ash looked back out over the battle arena.

"So what do you plan to do now Ash?" Brock finally asked.

"I'm not entirely sure myself," he told them while turning around. "I just need to find the right motivation I guess."

"The Paul thing is still really getting to you isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ash sighed. "Before you guys showed up Cynthia and I had a bit of a talk about what the future can hold and I got on my mind of what I want to happen. I still feel as though I need to fight Paul before I take on the Elite Four, but one thing that I do know is that I don't want this opportunity pass by. My gut is telling me that I have to have these battles, with or without Paul, even if my mind is opposing the idea. And as you guys know, I always follow my gut feelings. But in the meantime I'm probably just going to go home to give this a bit more thought and probably also start preparing for the battle, either of them."

"So that means you're next stop is Pallet Town then?" Dawn asked, almost as if confirming it.

"Yep, I'll be heading down to the docks now to see when the next ferry is."

Walking out the door Ash gave a big sigh once he was out of sight of his friends.

"Pika pika Pikapi?"

"Yeah Pikachu, we're going home."

* * *

><p>Standing on the balcony of the ferry, Ash looked out at the Pokémon League area. Even with the tournament over people were still buzzing about, taking care of whatever business they had before heading home as well. Luckily for Ash one the ferries that was headed to Kanto wasn't going to depart for several hours, though it would be making a stop in Pastoria City along the way. And in mentioning his name the ticket lady upgraded him to a deluxe room for free. It wasn't overly fancy, but the room had a private balcony and a separate sleeping area with two twin size beds so Ash wasn't complaining.<p>

"Well Buddy," Ash said to his partner who was standing on the railing beside him. "Looks like we're on our own again. I just wonder what Dawn and Brock will be doing. I thought that they would be right behind us after we left the stadium but I lost sight of them pretty quickly. It wouldn't surprise me if Brock was on the same ferry as us but Dawn will probably be going on the one headed for Sandgem Town. And now that I think about it she's more than likely going to be pretty mad at us the next time we talk for leaving her like that."

"Pi pika."

"Okay fine, she'll be mad at _me_ the next time we talk."

Pulling the ribbon back out of his pocket, Ash leaned down on the railing to look at it again. Turning it every which way, examining every bit of its surface. Of course by this point he had already memorized every inch on the ribbon, just by having taken it out so often.

"I wonder what May is going to do now?" He asked Pikachu while keeping himself focused on what was in his hand. "She just got done with another Grand Festival so she'll be probably changing regions as well. Do you think that she'll choose Sinnoh next?"

"Pika," the mouse responded while shrugging his shoulders.

"I just hope that we get to see each other again sometime soon. Maybe I should call her to see if she wouldn't mind stopping over in Pallet before heading out again. Considering she's in Johto it wouldn't be that far to travel, even more so depending on where she is planning to go next."

Suddenly Ash heard several knocks coming from the door to his room.

"Now I wonder who that could be."

Putting the ribbon back into his pocket the trainer went and started to open the door. Before he could even open it fully, the door swung open as someone waltzed right in. Almost as if they were supposed to be in the room in the first place.

"Hey Ash," the blunette said to him, taking a look around the room. "Dang you got a good one didn't you?"

"Piplup."

"See I told you this was the way to go, didn't I Piplup?"

"Dawn?"

Ash just stood there flabbergasted at the fact that even if he never really said anything, his old traveling partner was able to find him without a problem. Looking back to the hallway he saw one of the ferry's bellmen standing out there, almost as if waiting for someone.

"See, everything's fine," Dawn told the guy. "Thanks for coming with me."

Looking once more at the two kids, he bowed and walked away without a word.

As she walked into the sleeping area, Ash saw that the girl had a cloth covered bag at her side along with her normal pack, and he didn't remember seeing her with it at anytime within the last few days.

"I call this bed!" Dawn happily said while jumping onto the one furthest from the window.

"Wait, what do you mean you call that bed?" Ash asked as he followed her. "Don't you have your own room? But more importantly how did you know I was in this one?"

"I saw you standing on the balcony when I was about to buy my ticket," the coordinator casually told him lying back on the soft mattress after setting her bags and Piplup down onto it. "I knew that you would probably have gotten some special treatment for just winning the Sinnoh League, so I just told the people that I was already with someone and they forgot to give me my ticket. I needed someone to escort me up here to prove that I wasn't lying, but it looks like we get to travel together for a bit longer. Although I'm glad that I was actually able to guess the right room number from the outside, it wouldn't have looked too good if I walked right into a random person's cabin."

"You probably just wanted the free room," Ash pointed out.

"I won't deny it," she responded with a big smile.

Sighing Ash figured there was no real harm in her tagging along so it just wasn't worth the effort to try and convince her to leave. Once she had her mind made up it was hard to get her to do otherwise.

"Alright fine," he conceded. "You can stay here."

"Thanks Ash! I knew you wouldn't have a problem with it."

"But, my condition is that you will tell me why you are here in the first place. You know that I'm just going to be staying in Pallet for a while and not traveling anywhere, so you won't be going too far once we reach Kanto."

"That's no problem," she told him while holding Piplup above her and swinging her feet a bit. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do either and no matter what I choose to do, Kanto should be a good starting point. Besides, there are a few things that I want to do over there before I start anything else."

"And what would those things be?" Ash asked her, arms crossed and his suspicion of the girl rising with every word she said.

"That's a secret," Dawn told him with a wink.

Sighing deeply Ash knew he wouldn't get much further with the girl. Besides, it was a two day trip to Kanto anyways so it wasn't as if he didn't have some spare time on his hands. With the ferry departing soon their plan was to depart here in the late afternoon, be in Pastoria by the next morning, and after a few hours layover arrive at the Pallet Town Port late that night.

"So I suppose Brock came with you?" He asked while leaning up against a nearby wall.

"Nope, we split up after leaving the stadium. He did say that he was going to be heading back to Kanto as well after a few errands, so I would guess he's on here somewhere."

"Yeah and now that I think about it, if he was with you he would have prevented you from trying this little stunt. What's in that bag anyways?" Ash asked motioning to the item she was carrying.

"Oh this? I had a package waiting for me at the Pokémon Center when I went to grab my things," Dawn told him. Putting Piplup down, she reached over and pulled the item in question closer to herself. "My mom sent it to me as a present and a card for placing in the top four in my first Grand Festival."

Lifting off the cloth, the blunette revealed something that Ash knew quite well. It was a Pokémon egg incubation dome. Underneath the glass covering was an egg with yellow stars covering it.

"In the card she didn't tell me what Pokémon was in it," Dawn continued. "So I assume it's supposed to be a surprise. But it's already quite warm and I've felt the Pokémon move around in there a couple times so it'll probably hatch sometime soon."

"In that case you just need to be extra careful with it," Ash told her while heading back to the balcony where Pikachu was still watching the entire scene unfold. "This is probably just going to be a boring few weeks coming up Dawn so you probably shouldn't expect too much."

"Oh I wouldn't assume that just yet Ash," the blunette said quietly while lying back down on the bed. "Life is full of surprises, and you have one coming up soon."

* * *

><p>As Ash had predicted, the rest of the afternoon wasn't all that exciting. Of course it didn't help that he was spending the time relaxing in his room with Dawn, himself, and their two Pokémon just watching TV. It was the time of the year where all of the Pokémon tournaments were going on, both League and Grand Festival alike, so the two of them just switched off which one they were watching.<p>

By the time the sun began to fall, the two were starting to become distracted by a loud noise that resonated throughout the room.

"Getting hungry Ash?" Dawn finally asked, after the sound interrupted the Hoenn Grand Festival a few too many times.

"Yeah, guess I am," he replied with a bit of embarrassment in his voice.

"Alright then, let's get some food," the coordinator said. "It's not like I can concentrate on the contests anyways."

"Sorry about that."

Grabbing their two Pokémon the friends headed out to find the cafeteria. It didn't take too long to find it and in no time the two trainers were happily eating. Of course compared to the simple soup and light pasta that Dawn got, Ash had two large cheeseburgers, a mountain of fries, and three pieces of chocolate cake waiting. Sure one of those pieces was for Pikachu but it still looked like an impressive meal.

"Don't you ever get worried about eating that much Ash?" Dawn asked him as she gave a few of the sauce covered noodles to Piplup.

"What do you mean? This is about the normal amount I eat," he told her while slathering the burgers with ketchup. But the simple action caught the eyes of a certain individual. "Okay so I guess I probably could have gone with one less piece of cake but… hey!"

Ash felt somebody tugging at the ketchup bottle that he had. Looking down at who it was, a rather annoyed expression came across the trainer's face.

Crawling up from his lap Pikachu had grabbed onto the bottle with a look of wonder in his eyes. Bringing the bottle up higher both of the humans could see that the mouse clearly had no intention of letting go. Holding tightly onto it, Pikachu was currently dangling in mid-air only by his grip on the bottle.

"I thought you had gotten over that addiction Pikachu," Ash told his partner as the Pokémon continued to hold onto the red condiment.

"Pikachu. Chaaa…" He shook his head before rubbing it up against the bottle.

"Alright I'll let you have it, just let me finish using it first!"

Even after telling him that Pikachu refused to let go. Sighing deeply, Ash looked back at Dawn while trying to physically separate his Pokémon from the ketchup bottle.

"As I was saying, I don't think that I eat that…much…for…a normal…there!"

Finally pulling the two apart, Ash continued to put the ketchup onto his food. All the while Pikachu struggled slightly in his other hand with tears starting to form in his eyes as he tried to grab for the precious item.

"A normal person," the trainer finished up. "I'm surprised that you eat as little as you do."

"Pika! Pika!"

Pikachu's flailing started to get more intense as Ash continued to talk, and the boy was having hard time keeping hold of his friend while still making sure that his food didn't go flying all over the place.

"Alright! Fine here you go," he finally conceded, handing the bottle over to the mouse.

"Chaa…"

Happily sitting down next to his trainer, Pikachu leaned up against Ash and slowly but steadily started to lick the contents of the bottle away.

"I still don't understand him sometimes… Just remember there's cake here for you as well, so don't get full off of only that."

"Pikachu."

"Actually I would probably be closer to the normal person, Ash," Dawn said to him, bringing the trainer's gaze back off his Pokémon. "It's you that's the abnormal one."

"But May always ate almost as much as me," Ash quickly countered. "Although I don't think Misty did…"

Directly after his comment, Dawn's face quickly grew her mischievous grin that Ash had started to fear as of late.

"What?" He tentatively asked.

"Oh nothing, I was just noticing that you seem to bring May's name up rather often."

Ash gulped hard.

"And I think I might as well ask outright, Ash do you like May?"

Exhaling in relief, the trainer was glad that the conversation didn't seem to turn the way they usually did when May was brought up to Dawn like this.

"Of course I like her," he told Dawn while taking a bite of his hamburger. "I traveled with her for nearly two years; it would be bad if I didn't like her. Besides she's one of my best friends."

"_Is he playing hard to get or just that dense?"_ Dawn found herself wondering after the answer he gave.

"Alright then, seeing as how you didn't seem to understand the real question, I'll rephrase it. Do you like May more than a simple friend or best friend, as in actually love her."

Nearly choking on another bite of his food, Ash quickly grabbed for a glass of water.

"What? No, no!" He got out between coughs.

"Uh-huh."

Even through the coughs Dawn could see his face starting to turn a light shade of red.

"Okay then, well you're either lying or you don't realize it yourself," Dawn concluded while resting her elbows on the table and her head on her hands. "Because some of the signs you've been showing lately clearly point to the fact that you do."

"I'm not in love with May!" Ash told her, but he couldn't keep his voice from cracking slightly as he said it.

"Ah, finally found you guys."

Looking up the two saw Brock walking up to them and take a seat next to Dawn.

"I knew that Ash would be on here but I'm surprised to see you too Dawn," he said to them. "But I figured that the easiest way to find Ash would be to wait for dinner time and just look around the cafeteria." Looking over at the person in question, Brock noticed something slightly out of the ordinary. "You're really red in the face Ash, you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," he huffed while finishing up the last of his fries.

"He is more-or-less," Dawn clarified. "He's just been faced with the truth that he can't hide the fact that May means more to him then just another friend anymore."

"For the last time, I'm not in love with May!" Ash firmly said before digging into the first piece of cake.

"Oh that topic again?" Brock said while grabbing a spoonful of soup. "Yeah, it's true that he does, although he doesn't show it too often."

"Not you too Brock!"

"Whether you like it or not Ash, May looks as though she means more to you than most, if not all, of your other friends," his older companion told him. "I've been with you longer than anyone else, baring Pikachu of course, so I know you probably as much as you know yourself. I wouldn't doubt that I actually know you better than you know yourself when it comes to certain things. You've given May more attention during your time with her than any of our other traveling companions. Even taking it upon yourself to teach her coordinating, something which, at the time, you knew nothing about yourself."

"She was like a student to me," Ash tried to counter.

"Maybe, but it extended beyond just the battlefield. You two had more synergy than you might have noticed and were nearly inseparable at times."

"I said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not in love with May," Ash repeated, but the confidence in his voice had dropped significantly this time. "Or at least I don't think I am," he added quietly.

"Don't worry Ash it's not a bad thing to fall in love, it just means that you're growing up. Eventually you'll come to enjoy the feeling like I have come to…ouch ouch ouch ouch!"

"Okay that's enough out of you," Dawn interrupted while pulling on his ear. "We don't need you distorting his idea of what love actually is."

"Distorting? I take offence to that. I love all girls equally…ahh!"

"Exactly my point," she said while pulling harder on his ear.

"I'm going back to my room guys," Ash told them while grabbing Pikachu, who had finished off the bottle of ketchup, along with the cake, long ago.

"Hey Ash wait up!" Dawn called out to him, but he either didn't hear her or ignored her because he just kept going and disappeared down one of the hallways.

"Think we went a little too far?" Brock asked, after finally being released from the ear lock.

"Maybe, but he's probably going to have to face it sooner than he thinks, so this'll probably turn out to be good for him," the coordinator replied while gathering up her dishes.

"And what do you mean by that? Are you scheming something?"

"Who me? No, of course not," Dawn told him with a large grin on her face as she pulled Piplup toward herself and started to pet the Pokémon. "Why would you assume that I would do something like that?"

Sighing, Brick turned back to his food.

"I get the feeling that I'll learn about whatever it is soon enough. Even if I can probably already guess as to what you have planned. I assume that they have no clue right now?"

"As far as I can tell at least," Dawn told him, completely understanding who he was talking about. "I sent the message saying that it was Ash asking for it so there shouldn't be any real questions on that end. And as for Ash… well, Ash is Ash."

Unable to hold back the bit of laughter that came from the comment, Brock quickly got control against and began to finish off the last of his soup.

"Yeah you won't have to worry about anything from him. So is that the reason you decided to follow Ash?"

"Part of it at least," she answered him with a small smile and slight blush. "I told him that I was going to probably use Kanto as a springboard to wherever I decide to go next, which isn't a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth. Like I told you earlier today, he's like a big brother to me and this is how I'm going to try and repay him for everything he did for me over the last year. Besides, I think I'm not ready to part with him just yet either. I know I won't be able to stay with him for too long but I'll take any amount of time I can get before that happens."

"And there's nothing wrong with that," Brock confirmed for her. "So where are you staying on the ship then? Ash left without us, so did you meet up with him at some point afterwards?"

"Not exactly, I just saw him looking out from his balcony when I was about to buy my ticket so I kinda tricked the ship staff into thinking that I was rooming with him already but he just forgot to give me a key. As I guessed his room had two beds in it so it worked out perfectly. I don't really bother him too much by staying there and in return I get a free boat ride."

"I'm surprised the staff didn't say anything."

"Me too to be honest. But the guy that escorted me must have had other things to do because after I walked in and Ash acknowledged me, without saying much else he left. And of course I knew that there was almost no way that Ash would kick me out after that point. Besides, I'm paying him back in more ways than one in the coming days so everything should be fine. Or at least if everything works out correctly I will."

"Speaking of which you might want to head back and at least see how he's reacting to everything we said. This has been brought up countless times before but we've never forced it on him like this so I'm not really sure how he'll react," Brock told her while pushing his bowl aside. "If you need some help just call me, I'm in room 202."

"Oh I think I'll be just fine without your type of help on this subject," Dawn said while getting up from the table and putting her started back on her head.

Walking off in the direction that Ash went, the coordinator turned around momentarily to look back at Brock.

"Before I forget, the two of us are in room 475. Just in case you wanted to know." Turning back towards the elevators Dawn waved back at her older friend. "See you in the morning probably."

"Piplup!" The small penguin imitated as they vanished into the hallway.

* * *

><p>Well now that a few things have been revealed the story can actually start rolling. Next chapter will be the real one that sets the foundation for most of the rest of the story so stay tuned.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

As always thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Like I mentioned last time, this update creates the basis that the rest of the story builds off of. So I hope you enjoy it.

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><p>"Good thing I grabbed one of the key cards to the room before we left," Dawn said to the Pokémon on her head. "If Ash went someplace besides back to the room, it would have been a little hard to get the staff to get me a key to the room of the new Sinnoh League Champion."<p>

"Piplup." Nodding the Penguin Pokémon completely agreed.

Unlocking and opening the door to their room, Dawn quietly entered.

"Ash, you in here?"

Looking around the lights were off, but walking further in she found him sitting out on the balcony, gazing out across the water with Pikachu on his lap. The moon was just starting to come up above the horizon and the number of stars was steadily increasing in the vast sky.

"Hey Ash," the coordinator said to him, walking out to the balcony as well. "Mind if I join you?"

Looking up at her with a small smile, Dawn could finally see his face clearly. To her relief he didn't seem either sad or mad.

"Oh hey Dawn," he said to her. "Sure I don't mind."

Taking a seat in the chair next to him, the coordinator tried to read what was on his mind but Ash just sat there staring out at the ocean while slowly scratching Pikachu's head.

"Ash, are you mad at me?" Dawn finally asked, if nothing more than to break the ice.

"You mean for what happened at dinner? I can't say that I'm happy that you kept on inferring that I love May but…"

"So you seriously believe that you don't love May?"

"I keep telling you, I don't!" Ash snapped back at her. "But for some reason I just can't get the idea out of my head."

"I'd say that's because you are probably starting to doubt yourself when it comes to that topic," she told him with a smile. "While I don't know as much about you two as Brock does, the way that you talk about her and how much you talk about her says it all."

"I've also explained that though, it's because traveling with her and Max was only a couple years ago so I remember them easier than say my travels with Misty. Besides, you have always been more interested in coordinating than league battles so, again, I tried to remember more things about May than Misty because of their battle preference."

"And I don't doubt that may be true. But again it comes to the way that you talk about each, which can speak volumes by itself."

"Just what do you mean by that anyways?" Ash asked her.

"It's hard to explain, but just the tone in your voice as you talk about them can tell what you actually feel. Kinda like how when Misty had a crush on you and she emitted those feelings in a tsundere type of fashion."

"Wait, Misty had a crush on me?" Quickly turning around to look at Dawn, Ash had a look of pure surprise on his face.

"Whoops, guess you didn't know that about that one yet," the blunette giggled. "Forget I said anything."

"How can I now?" Ash groaned. "And how did you find out about that? Assuming it's true I guess."

"Like Brock said, he can be rather observant at times. But I would have assumed that you knew that by now considering some of the things he told me. It seems that Misty even mentioned that she wanted to marry you at one point, and supposedly you were right next to her when she said it."

"When did she say that?"

"If this is seriously what I have to work with, this is going to be even harder than I thought," Dawn groaned while rubbing her temples.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," she said, waving it away. "Okay then, I have a simple quiz for you. How do you look at Misty? Basically give me a quick description of her."

"Huh? Why?"

"Just do it Ash," Dawn told him is a slightly more forceful tone.

"Alright fine, well she's about a year older than I am and a little shorter than me; she has red, almost orange, hair that she always kept in a side ponytail and green eyes. She was the first person that I met when I started out from Pallet Town and while she can have a very bad temper at times she's a kind person once you get to know her. In fact for the longest time she blamed me for the destruction of her bike, and used that as her reason to follow me at first. She and her sisters are the leaders of the Cerulean Gym, and probably because of it she has a bit of an obsession over Water-Type Pokémon, Tentacruel in particular. I have a lot of good memories with her and still consider her to be one of my best and irreplaceable friends, almost like family."

"Okay that's good," the blunette said after he seemed done, taking a few mental notes in the process. "Let's see, now how about me?"

"You?"

"Yeah, imagine that you are now going to describe me to someone. Don't worry about hurting my feelings or anything, just say what comes to mind."

"I still don't understand why you're making me do this," Ash complained. "But I'll go along with it for now I guess. Dawn, you're about five years younger than me and still very energetic. You have blue hair that you, and well, I have no clue how you actually get your hair like that to be honest."

"It takes a good amount of work in the morning," Dawn explained with a light cough while trying to hide the start of her blush forming. "True beauty is an art form. Continue."

"Umm, where was I, oh yeah. You have blue hair and it matches your blue eyes. But you do have a tendency of being too protective of your hair and you have sometimes get that odd grin of yours that means you're plotting something, and to be honest it kinda freaks me out at times. I met you the first day that I came to Sinnoh. You were helping to protect Pikachu from another one of Team Rocket's attacks after we got separated, although if I remember correctly sometime around there Pikachu fried your bike as well. But you were very enthusiastic about coordinating and you were also good at coming up with original ideas to help you accomplish your dream. You're another of my great friends although and I see you kind of like a younger sister at times. Overall you're fun to be with and I'm glad that we were able to spend time together."

"Thanks Ash. Alright and finally, describe May."

"That'll be an easy one," Ash told her with confidence. "May is a coordinator like you and a couple years younger than I am. She has long brown hair which she keeps most off to the side of her face and the rest hidden under a bandanna, and along with deep blue eyes that sometimes seem to smile as much as she does she catches a lot of attention at the contests she's gone to. Like you and Misty I met her the first day I was in Hoenn, and again it was due to an attack from Team Rocket, and I wound up frying her…bike… I just noticed that I have an odd way of introducing myself to people as I travel," the trainer concluded, dropping his head down in embarrassment.

"Don't worry Ash, everybody has their quirks," the blunette reassured him while trying to hold back her giggles.

"Pika pika Pikapi."

"Yeah but there are still a few that I'd rather not have." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Well, now that I think about it I really didn't get to officially meet her until later that day, after Pikachu had recovered. Surprisingly she didn't actually seem to care that her bike was destroyed, she only brought it up once near the beginning but it wasn't completely directed at me and she didn't use it as a reason to force me to accept her as a new traveling companion. And after everything I had to deal with in terms of Misty, I was quite happy to see that she didn't react in the same manner. May is a little clumsy at times but is one of the nicest people that you'll ever meet. When we first met she didn't seem to care about Pokémon all that much and was just more interested in traveling with me as I went around Hoenn. But as time went on she started to open up to them and eventually I could see her get excited about getting more Pokémon or be able to work with them. In fact she decided to go against what everyone thought was going to be her passion and became a Pokémon Coordinator even though she had very little idea as to what it actually was like. Although it took a little help from me to get her together, she eventually was able to become one on the top coordinators around. Placing high in the two Grand Festivals that I watched and probably doing just as well this year too. Unlike you and Misty though she has a tendency to cry depending on the situation, especially after a big loss, but it's just that she has a big heart and is quick to get down on herself. Yet with only a few reassuring words, she's back again looking at you with that contagious smile of hers. In the end though, I'm extremely proud for everything that she has done. She's also the daughter of the Petalburg Gym leader and has a little brother named Max who traveled with us as well. Along with you, Brock, and Misty, she is one of the best friends I have."

"Okay then, I think that pretty much helps solidify my thinking," Dawn finally said after Ash had finished.

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking back at the blunette. "You just asked for me to explain them and I did just that. How can you say that I love May with from a short explanation?"

"I will admit that I can't completely say that you love her from just this little experiment. What I can say though is that you think more about her than the other two girls you've been around the most."

"I still don't think that you can say that after something as trivial as asking for somebody's description."

"It would be pointless to argue with you Ash with you being as dense as you are when it comes to things like this."

"Hey!"

"All I can do is tell you what I see," Dawn continued, completely ignoring his outburst. "The rest you have to find out by yourself. Just remember that I'm not trying to tease you about this Ash. Okay, so part of me is but that's not the point. The point is that you need to figure it out yourself whether I ask you about it or not. After thinking it through completely and you still decide that your feelings for May are simply that of friendship, then that's that I guess. But both Brock and I feel that if you truly think hard about it, you'll probably find that it may be more than that."

"I still don't think that it'll change anything but you probably won't get off my back if I don't, won't you?"

"Nope," the coordinator told him without hesitation.

Groaning, Ash flopped back in his chair. Almost unconsciously the trainer slid his hand into his pocket and started to fiddle with the ribbon in there.

"I'll let you be for now," Dawn said as she stood up with Piplup. "But before I do I want to leave you with two questions that you should ask yourself. First; ask why you always carry the Terracotta Ribbon with you."

After hearing her comment Ash quickly started to jerk his hand back out of his pocket, but after a knowing look from Dawn he sighed and just put it right back in.

"Second; you need to figure out exactly what makes May different from all the other girls you've met while traveling. And not only Misty and myself, think of as many as you can and just start comparing. By the end I'd be willing to bet that you'll find more than you can imagine. I don't expect you come up with an answer to either question anytime soon, and even if you do I don't need to hear it, but in the mean time I'll be in the room watching the other Grand Festivals."

Walking back into the room and closing the door behind herself, Dawn left Ash alone with just Pikachu out on the balcony.

"I still think that they're overreacting Pikachu," Ash finally said. "But after everything that she's said, I just can't get this out of my head. It was probably the way that she said it in that she didn't seem to have an ounce of uncertainty. You know me probably just as well as I know myself Buddy, what so you think? Do I actually like May more than a friend? Do I really love her?"

"Pika," the Pokémon told his partner while shrugging his shoulders.

Pikachu knew that there was a something between his trainer and May but like Pikapi he didn't understand the concept of love. But unlike Pikapi he didn't understand it because it was more of a human idea than a Pokémon one. Sure, trained Pokémon took on far more human traits than wild Pokémon but he wasn't sure if that was one of them. For a Pokémon it was still more about finding a mate to be with, and if they wanted to stay together longer then that they would have to enjoy each other's company. For him at least, he knew that he did enjoy the company of certain Pokémon more than he expected at times. Even to the point of going out of his way to at least be near them.

"You too huh?" Sighing again, Ash just looked back out across the dark water while scratching Pikachu's stomach.

"Chaaa…"

Lying back to give his trainer easier access, the Pokémon virtually melted into his touch.

With his other hand Ash pulled the ribbon out of his pocket and held it out in front of him.

"I just don't know Pikachu. Why do I carry our ribbon around everywhere? Sure I consider it my good luck charm, but even if I tell Dawn that I doubt that'll be good enough for her."

"Pikachu pika chu chu."

"You're right, that's probably what she would say. So now I just have to figure out why it's my good luck charm. She didn't even give it to me as a gift like Misty did with her personal lure, we won it together. Is that the reason?"

Not hearing an answer from Pikachu, Ash once again looked out toward the water.

"Hey Buddy, maybe you can help me with this question."

"Pi?"

"I know that you seem to like May's Eevee quite a bit, so how does that feel to you? I know it may not be love, but at this point I'll take any help I can get to figure this out."

Even with Ash still lightly scratching his stomach, Pikachu stiffened instantly at the mention of her name.

"Pikaka," he laughed nervously.

"You don't have to worry Pikachu," Ash reassured his partner. "I think Dawn closed the door to make sure that we got privacy out here. You know I won't say anything said here to anybody if you don't want it to."

"Pikachu," the mouse said as he relaxed again. He felt kinda bad doubting Pikapi like that, but he never really considered his thoughts on the matter for himself, let alone explain it to someone else.

So, like Ash, Pikachu started to tell his trainer what he knew about his attraction to Eevee, hoping that it would at least be of some help to the boy.

After he was done, Pikachu slinked back into Ash's lap, glad that his fur would hide the fact that his face was heating up and probably turning a light shade of red at that point from slight embarrassment talking about that.

"Well we can agree on something at least Pikachu," Ash said with a bit of a chuckle. "They do hold a different place for each of us because they are girls. Because one of the few things I know for sure is that the way I feel about May as a friend is very different from how I feel about Brock as a friend. And the fact that you feel like a protector for her is similar to how I sometimes feel about May, but of course it's not because I saw her hatch out of her egg and grow up into an impressive Pokémon right before my eyes. Metaphorically I could say the same, but definitely not literally."

Feeling the heat become more intense, Pikachu just buried his head further into Ash.

"Pikachu Pikapi."

"Sorry Buddy, but I am trying to figure this out for myself as well. As for just wanting to see her smile, now that I think about it, even though I love seeing all my friends happy and smiling, she is one that I want to do everything I can to keep seeing her smiling and never with a frown."

As he said it May's face came forth in his head, turning around to look at him with a bright smile crossing her lips.

Shaking his head, Ash just leaned back again groaning.

"Why does this have to be so complicated?" He complained. "I know what I'm saying but at the same time I don't know. As for the rest of the things you said Pikachu I think those are more limited to just Pokémon and not humans so I can't really relate all that well to them." Seeing that he was still curled up in his lap while hiding his face in the trainer's stomach, Ash started to gently rub Pikachu at the base of his ears, and after a few moments a soft coo arose from the embarrassed Pokémon. "Thanks Buddy, I know it probably wasn't easy for you either but I'll take any help that I can get for this."

For nearly three hours Ash sat out on the balcony, slowly petting Pikachu and looking out to the water as his other hand continued to hold the Terracotta Ribbon. The entire time his brain continued to try and sort out what memories he could recall between him and May. And the more he thought about it, the more confused he became, but at the same time the more he started doubting himself because of the confusion.

It wasn't until a big yawn finally forced its way up that he left his spot. Pikachu was already fast asleep on his lap, lulled to slumber long ago by the cool wind and Ash's relaxing touch.

Walking inside he set the Pokémon down on the bed next to his pillow. Looking over to see that Dawn was already asleep herself, Ash went about his usual nighttime routine and crawled under the covers himself.

* * *

><p>It was almost like a movie. Ash could see the picture moving before him and hear everything that was going on around himself, but he had no control.<p>

It looked as though he was in an old temple of some sort, and water was pouring through every opening around them, filling the ancient place quickly with the rushing liquid.

"_I know this place."_

He wasn't alone, he saw Pikachu there. And so was May and Manaphy. They were running, trying to find something. After a few anxious moments, they apparently found it. It looked almost like a large dark green water heater with a door and small window.

"_Yes, I do know this place."_

Watching his hands open the door, he then guided May and Manaphy gently into the capsule and placed Pikachu into her arms.

"Pikachu, take care of them for me," he told the small yellow Pokémon.

"Ash, wait!"

Before she could do anything, he closed the door and latched it from the outside.

"Ash what are you doing?" May yelled at him while pounding on the plexiglass window of the door.

"Pikapi!"

Picking up a light blue crystal, he looked down at the three.

"May, I have to go put this back. So please don't move from here, no matter what." Saying those few words, Ash felt himself start to run back the way they came.

"_This is the Sea Temple. Out of everything, why am I remembering this?"_

"I need to put this back," Ash found himself saying. "And even if I don't make it at least May and Pikachu will be safe."

"_That's right, I did that to make sure that they were safe,"_ he thought as his body jumped down into the water, heading for the Sea Crown. _"And I almost died while doing it. Out of all the stupid things I've done over the years, this was the closest I ever came to really dying. I can't even remember how I actually survived this."_

Watching as he accidentally dropped the crystal and went deeper down after it, Ash could start to feel the burning in his lungs as they started to scream for fresh air, and yet his body continued to move. The crystal had lodged itself in one of the many designs around the Sea Crown and just as he freed it and started back up to put it in place, the pain hit again. While it wasn't nearly as excruciating as he remembered, Ash could still see darkness start to overtake his vision as the rest of it became distorted and blurry. As the picture faded completely he heard another voice.

"Please Ash, don't give up. Just don't give up. Please be strong, I know you can do it."

"_That's May's voice,"_ he told himself. _"I completely forgot about that."_

As if in response to the voice, the picture returned and Ash felt his body move once more to swim up, grab a breath of fresh air, and return to slide the crystal into place.

"_Did I regain consciousness because I heard May's voice?"_ He asked himself as the picture once again started to fade on him while the Sea Crown began to glow brightly. _"But why? And why was I hearing May's voice right when I was about to die?"_

When the color came back, he found that the scene changed completely and Ash was suddenly being held in somebody's arms. Looking around he found himself in a small body covered in yellow fur and a lightning shaped tail.

"_Pikachu?"_

It didn't take much longer to figure that he was in May's arms, and she currently looked to be very excited. All around him Ash saw the Sea Temple returning to floating on top of the ocean as the water poured back out of the structure.

"This is Ash's doing, isn't it?" He heard May ask.

But as the realization came to her, the brunette began to look around frantically and the once happy look quickly became one of worry.

"It can't be… No way…"

Collapsing to her knees, he could see her eyes start to well up. As the sniffling began, the trainer could feel May start to squeeze harder onto Pikachu's body out of desperation.

"It can't be," she repeated in a near whisper. "He couldn't…no, he wouldn't leave us like that. He just wouldn't…"

Ash wasn't sure if what he was watching was what really happened or not, but he could feel the pain start to well up in himself from watching May. It started in his stomach but quickly spread to his chest. To his surprise the pain was almost worse than what he felt just before blacking out from nearly drowning.

Not knowing if it was his own doing or what Pikachu did, but Ash felt himself cuddle into May in an effort to try and calm her. In response she nearly broke into tears as she held him even tighter.

"_No May, I would never leave you like that,"_ he found himself thinking as he rubbed his head up against her. _"I promise."_

Before Ash could even comprehend why he said that, a bright light burst forth from the waters below them and he could see himself flying out inside of the beam.

"Ash!"

May's face changed completely at the sight of him, sure she still had a few tears in her eyes but her smile was back and she was nearly laughing in relief.

As he watched his body start to fly off after Phantom, the happy face of Manaphy appeared before him. Before touching Pikachu's head with one of his tentacles and Ash's world going black once again, Ash could have sworn that the Seafaring Pokémon mouthed a single word, 'Papa'.

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><p>Okay so the movie flashback wasn't 100% accurate, even if I am a fan of Manaphy calling Ash 'Papa'. One thing I am happy to say, and the devoted AdvanceShipper inside of me agrees, is that May's reaction, while extended a bit, is comprised almost entirely of canon material. It's made from a slight compilation of both the raw and dubbed versions of the film along with the manga adaptation. Hope you liked this update, the next will be up as scheduled.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks as always for everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Without further adieu, here's chapter five.

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><p>Dawn woke up the next morning as the light from the morning sun hit her face. Groaning and turning over to her other side only delayed the inevitable, and a few minutes later she finally sat up and stretched her arms out. Groggily looking around she saw that Ash, Pikachu, and Piplup were still asleep. Getting out of bed, she was dressed only in the usual oversized t-shirt that she wore to bed, but quietly gathered her normal clothes and went into the bathroom to shower and prepare for the morning.<p>

After a half hour she walked back out of the bathroom to find that Pikachu and Piplup were just starting to wake up but Ash was still fast asleep, even with the sun shining directly onto him.

"How can he sleep like that?" She wondered aloud while putting her towel and old clothes into her pack.

Grabbing Piplup, who with a big yawn was still trying to completely wake up, the blunette paused while looking back at her roommate.

"We're going to breakfast, you want to join us Pikachu?" She quietly asked the Pokémon. "Because it doesn't look like he's going to wake up anytime soon."

Giving off one last yawn of his own, Pikachu looked between Pikapi and Dawn and it didn't take long for him to make his decision. Jumping off the bed he bounded up to his traveling companion and perched himself on her shoulder. Glancing back towards Pikapi, he knew that his partner would probably need the sleep. After everything that he was worried about last night it wasn't a surprise that he would be tired today.

Heading out the door with Piplup on her head and Pikachu on her shoulder, Dawn made her way down to the cafeteria. After grabbing a bowl of cereal and some fruit for both herself and the Pokémon, the coordinator noticed Brock waving his hand from one of the far tables.

"Morning Dawn," Brock said to her as she sat down. "Where's Ash?"

"Good morning Brock, and Ash is actually still asleep," she said while putting the two Pokémon down on the table and giving them their food.

"Asleep? That's odd. Did something happen last night?"

"Well…"

Seeing Dawn's hesitation, Brock started to get worried.

"Dawn?"

"Don't worry it's nothing bad," the coordinator reassured him. "Or at least as far as I could tell it wasn't. But by the look of it he was actually thinking rather hard about what we were saying, and by his own words it was because he just couldn't get them out of his head."

"So then you think that he may actually realize it?"

"I don't really know," Dawn told him with a sigh. "This is Ash we're talking about, and if he's as bad as you point to, it'll be an uphill battle either way. The important things right now though are that one, he's not mad at us at the moment for bringing this up. And two, he seems to be taking his own initiative into thinking this over. Although the second reason seems to be more along the lines that as he thinks about it and tries to understand it he is just getting more confused."

"Then that's actually a good sign," Brock said with a laugh. "Ash can be as stubborn as they come so he won't quit until he finds an answer."

"And that's exactly what I was counting on. The more confused he gets, the more he'll try and understand it. And as long as he's trying to understand it, the thought that he might actually love May won't leave his head until he finds that answer. I just hope that I didn't make the wrong choice by starting all of this," Dawn admitted while blowing some bubbles into her milk. "I just want to help Ash by doing this, and all I'm wishing for right now is his happiness. From what I can see they really do like each other, but if I'm wrong the results could either end in an 'oh well too bad it didn't play out' all the way to Ash and May actually starting to dislike each other. And I don't think I could forgive myself if I was the one who caused that."

"I don't think you have to worry about the last one," the older companion reassured her. "It would take more than a little disagreement to completely split up those two. And besides, they need some kind of push if either is going to figure these things out."

"I guess," she said half heartedly. "You think you could elaborate on how May feels about Ash, Brock? I know you've told me a few things here and there, and along with what I've seen from Ash I'm still rather confident that I can help get these two together. But you know May much better than I do."

"I would probably say that she is in a boat rather similar to Ash as of right now. Although she isn't nearly as dense when it comes to the idea of love as he is, I'm not sure if she would be able to just come outright and say that she loves Ash, if she even realizes it herself. She's teased him about the topic countless times while we were traveling together and has always looked up to and admired him. Along with the fact that she sees Ash as her major pillar of support it's not hard to see her affection turned out to be love in hiding. But then again it's all speculation, and I can't say for sure in the end."

"Well at least that makes me feel a little better," the coordinator said with a small smile. "It's rather annoying but we have to hope for Ash to actually figure this all out by himself first won't we?"

"That we do. Let's just hope that it doesn't take too long."

* * *

><p>After finishing her breakfast with Brock, Dawn went back with the two Pokémon to her room to see if Ash was awake. Oddly enough, he wasn't.<p>

"What's wrong with you this morning Ash?" She quietly asked, obviously not expecting an answer from the sleeping trainer. "So do you want to stay here with him Pikachu or do you want to say with us? Because it's not like we can do anything in here while he's still asleep."

"Pika."

Rubbing up against Dawn's cheek in thanks, the Mouse Pokémon jumped off of her shoulder and up onto the bed of his trainer. Checking to see if Pikapi was actually still asleep, Pikachu curled up back in his original spot to relax and patiently wait for his trainer to awaken.

"Looks like you've made your choice," the blunette stated. "Alright, see you later then."

Walking back out of the room and closing the door behind her, Dawn paused.

"Okay so now what are we going to do?" She asked Piplup. "It's not like there is a lot to do on the ship considering it's only a ferry meant to be used for one or two nights tops." Thinking for a moment, she shrugged her shoulders after at least something came to mind. "Do you want to head out to the bow of the ship and do a little bit of sunbathing?"

"Piplup!"

"Alright then, so it's decided."

Turning around to go back into the room, Dawn gave a small wave at Pikachu, who had lifted his head up at the sound of the door, before going into the bathroom to change into her swimsuit. And only moments later emerged dressed in a blue two-piece bikini and carrying a towel. Mouthing 'goodbye' to Pikachu, the coordinator exited the room with Piplup back on her head and started heading for the bow of the ship.

After several minutes of searching she finally found the doors leading to the bow and stepping out shielded her eyes from the bright morning sun. As her eyes adjusted Dawn could make out the city of Pastoria just down the road, and to her surprise the entire deck was empty of people.

"A lot of people must be getting off here and not going down to Kanto," Dawn said to her Pokémon as she laid her towel down on one of the deck chairs. "There weren't that many people in the cafeteria, and I saw quite a few people with bags in their hands walking out of the rooms as we were coming here. Oh well, guess that just means a quieter ride down to Pallet."

Sitting down on the chair, the blunette began to apply on a thin layer of sunscreen on her skin before putting on a pair of sunglasses and lying back into the plastic seat.

"Whoops, almost forgot something."

Sitting up again, she quickly unstrapped her Pokétch from her wrist; laying it down in between her and Piplup, Dawn relaxed back into the chair.

"There we go; I always hate getting a tan line from that."

Sighing as the warm sun started to warm up her body, Dawn could feel her entire body start to unwind.

"Now this is a vacation Piplup; warm sun, cool breeze, and nobody to say otherwise."

"Piplup," the Water-Type agreed, imitating her trainer in the chair next to her.

Without looking at her Pokétch, Dawn easily lost track of time out there. She felt the ship start up and move out of port about a couple hours after she got there, but other than that the occasional squawking of flying Pokémon it was all she heard. And once they were out on open water she could have cared even less as the sea breeze became even more refreshing away from land.

If it wasn't for the slight grumbling in her stomach that slowly grew as time went on, she would have spent even longer out there.

Standing up to stretch her muscles the coordinator finally picked her Pokétch back up to check the time.

"Dang it's already three o'clock."

Blinking a few times as if not believing the numbers, Dawn strapped it back to her wrist and grabbed her towel.

"Alright Piplup, I think we should go see what Ash is doing. If he's not up by now I think I'll just have to wake him up myself."

Grabbing her Pokémon and her belongings, they began walking back to their room. It didn't take nearly as long to get back as it did when she left that morning, but after sliding the key and opening the door she found that her hunch was of course correct. There was only one problem.

"Okay so he's up at least, but where did he go off to?"

Sure enough, walking into the room Dawn found that it was completely empty. Neither Ash nor Pikachu were there and she couldn't find any real evidence as to where they went.

"I'm almost tempted to forget about them," she groaned, while starting to put on some clothes over her bikini. "But I should at least check up on him after everything I said last night."

After finishing getting dressed, Dawn began her search in what she assumed would be the most obvious place, the cafeteria. But to her surprise he wasn't there.

Muttering in frustration she continued to look around the ship, which, to her relief, wasn't all that big. It didn't take too long to eventually find her roommate; he was out on the pool deck near the back of the ship. Interestingly enough the deck wasn't all that crowded, but all it did was reinforce her assumption that most of the passengers got off earlier that day in Pastoria. While most of the passengers were there for the obvious reason, the pool still had several people in it, there was a small group gathered in an area near the far end of the deck. And in the center of the attention, was Ash.

"Staraptor, pull yourself into a loop using Brave Bird!" He yelled out to his Pokémon. "Pikachu jump off as high as you can and aim a Thunderbolt towards the water! Staraptor hit the exact spot Pikachu hits with your own attack!"

"Star!"

"Pika!"

Doing exactly as commanded, Pikachu, who was already riding on the Flying-Type's back, jumped high into the air beyond the railing of the ship and at the same time a brilliant blue flame enshrouded Staraptor as he pulled himself into a loop before flying straight down towards the water.

Before he hit, a bright flash of yellow caused many of the observers to cover their eyes as the Thunderbolt flew past the bird and hit directly in front of it causing the water to spark slightly as the current dissipated across the surface. But not long after the first attack hit, Staraptor shot down into the water himself forcing up a plume of steam as the Brave Bird attack hit home.

The steam was just starting to make its way up to the deck as Pikachu began to freefall down into it causing several people in the crowd to gasp. But their fears were soon overcome as the vapor opened up to reveal Staraptor rocketing back up into the air with Pikachu sitting perfectly on his back.

Clapping and cheers started to ring out from the crowd as the bird landed on the deck's railing right in front of his trainer.

"So there you are," Dawn said as she took a step out of the crowd. "Having fun showing off?"

Turning around to face her, Ash gave a small smile in response.

"Hey Dawn. And actually not quite, I was originally over here by myself and they just started to gather around me."

"Because we wanted to see the Sinnoh League Champion in action!" One of the kids yelled out.

"This is going to take a little getting used to," Ash admitted with a nervous laugh. Turning away from Dawn the new champion faced his equally new fans. "Sorry everyone but I'm going to take a break for now," he told the crowd. "I need to give my Pokémon a rest. And I want to talk to my friend with a little more privacy."

Without much of a fuss the small mass of people quickly dispersed around the pool, with a few of them looking over every once and a while to see if Ash was starting up again.

"It looks to me that you're already getting used to it," Dawn commented as Ash returned Staraptor to his Pokéball and took a seat in one of the chairs.

"You think so?"

"More-or-less," she said while sitting down next to him. "So when did you finally get up?"

"About a couple hours ago, I had a rough night and couldn't get much sleep."

"Why's that?" Dawn asked, getting a little worried that it was from what they were talking about last night.

Seemingly noticing the girl's mood change, Ash tried clarifying it a little.

"Don't worry; I'm not blaming it on you or anything. I just couldn't get my head clear enough to go to sleep. Those questions that you asked of me just kept going on in my mind, and I think it was what caused a bit of an odd dream. I've been having a hard time getting it and everything else out of my head, so I did the only thing I knew that I could lose myself in and not have to think about anything else, training."

"Odd dream?" The coordinator asked. "Do you mind sharing it?"

"It was actually more of an old memory," he told her, while looking down and slowly and rhythmically pet Pikachu. "About a year and a half ago, May, Brock, Max, and I had an encounter with a rare Pokémon called Manaphy. Cutting to the chase it eventually brought us to an old temple floating in the sea which some pirates were after. After they nearly destroyed what kept the temple afloat, May and I, along with Manaphy and Pikachu, had to try and escape the temple. Well we found an escape pod from the pirate's submarine but it could only fit one person easily. I can clearly remember putting May and the two Pokémon into the pod and latching it from the outside to keep them safe. After knowing that, I went to try and fix what the pirates broke."

"That sounds just like you Ash," Dawn interrupted.

"Yeah I know, but if I knew what happened afterwards I'm not as sure if I would have done it again. To be able to fix it, I needed to place a special crystal into a slot that was at that time in the center of the flooding temple. I misjudged the depth and while I was near the bottom I started to run out of air. I can still sometimes feel the pain of my lungs burning, yelling at me to take a breath. It was then that I started to black out, but I think before I completely lost consciousness I heard May's voice in my head telling me to come back safely. I don't entirely know what happened, but I regained my strength and was able to go up to get my breath of fresh air and fix the Sea Crown. I still don't know how close to death I came at that moment, but it was probably the closest I've ever come. Maybe only a second or two at most."

Dawn listened intently as he described his encounter. Although he wasn't being overly detailed about it all, she could still picture the scene nearly perfectly. Almost too perfectly in fact, she was starting to sniffle and could feel her eyes start to water up watching as Ash was in that situation. Trying to be not exceptionally obvious about it, she wiped her eyes clear as he continued.

"But those were all things that I actually remember. It was after that part which got weird. My vision went black again, but not from anything on my end, and when everything came back I was in May's arms safe and sound. But it wasn't my body that I was in, it was Pikachu's. During this time I watched May's face go from the joy at seeing the temple stop sinking, to complete horror when I didn't show up afterwards. And it was the words she said that surprised me the most. After tightening her hold on Pikachu, she began to cry and she told him that I 'wouldn't leave us like that'."

"And then what happened?" Dawn asked, carefully paying attention to what he was saying.

"It was then that the real me reappeared before her and it looked like she experienced a hundred lifetimes of happiness hit her at once. Soon after, the dream ended."

"So is it the second part that is making you worry then?"

"Sort of. It's true that I don't know if she actually said that or not, I even asked Pikachu about it after I woke up and he sadly didn't remember, but it was something that I thought after hearing those words. Without thinking the first thing that came to my mind was 'No May, I would never leave you like that'."

"Now that's interesting," the coordinator replied as the gears in her head began to turn again.

"But another thing has been on my mind," Ash continued. "And that was the thought of if I had the choice, would I do it all again exactly as it happened? Would I have risked my life just to be able to save the temple and give May, Pikachu, and Manaphy even an ever so slightly better chance at survival? Because, while it would have been a tight fit, I might have been able to get into that escape pod as well, but with everything going as it was we weren't guaranteed to survive." Ash sighed as he continued to pet Pikachu. "Have you ever heard of the saying that hindsight is 20/20?"

"I think so at least."

"Well, even knowing that my actions probably created far more risk than what was necessary, considering there was still a good chance that we all still could have gotten out of it alive even if I didn't try to put the crystal back, I don't think that I would have changed what I did."

"Even knowing that if you did even the slightest thing differently you would have died?"

"Yeah, and that's what has really surprised me. Well, that and the thought as long as I got to see May's smiling face afterwards it would all make it worthwhile, even if was without me."

"That is interesting that you can say that Ash," Dawn said after seeing the sad smile that the trainer had. "You know, your comment about hindsight reminded me of an old blessing from Sinnoh that my mom used to say to me. Now how does it go again? Oh yeah. 'May you have the hindsight to know where you have been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far.' It's the last part that made me bring this up. The fact that you can say that you didn't go too far while doing that, even with as much danger as you put yourself through and brushing up against one of the few things that can end your dreams completely and permanently, shows that you believe very strongly about it."

"You think so?" Ash asked, starting to cheer up again.

"I know so," she confirmed. "While I can't tell you exactly what it means, the fact that you're willing to come that close to death for something and not regret it just means that you should keep thinking about this until you know exactly what it means."

"Thanks Dawn, now if I only knew exactly what it means," he said with a light laugh.

"It's only a stepping stone Ash, but you'll probably find out everything eventually."

As Ash's hand stopped petting him, Pikachu heard somebody approaching them. Raising his head, the two humans and Piplup noticed his action and looked over to who he noticed.

"So here's where you two have been," Brock said as he walked up to them with a newspaper in his hand. "I went to your room three times this afternoon and nobody was there."

"I was out sun tanning for most of the day," the coordinator told him.

"And I left the room right after I woke up," Ash added in.

"Well either way, I just wanted to show you two this," Brock said while handing the newspaper to Ash. "Congratulations, you guys made the front page of Sinnoh's largest selling newspaper."

Opening up the newspaper, the first thing Ash's eyes hit was the title, 'Kanto Pokémon Trainer Claims Victory'. And right in the center of the front page was Ash holding up his trophy.

"Wow, I should have known but it's still something else to see yourself on the front page like this," the trainer beamed as he began to read the article.

"Congratulations Ash," Dawn said as he was reading.

"Don't be too quick on that Dawn," Brock told her. "You're on the front page as well."

"Huh? Why would I be on there?"

"Look further down, it's one of the captioned pictures."

Peering over Ash's shoulder, the blunette looked down where he said, but her eyes went wide even before she saw the caption.

"What?"

Not understanding her reaction, Ash looked down to find the picture as well. It wasn't hard to figure out which one they were talking about. Although not at prevalent as Ash's center shot, the picture had Ash and Dawn walking hand in hand down the main pathway to the stadium. But the kicker was in the caption, 'The new champion and his girlfriend head to their meeting with Cynthia the morning after the finals'.

"Girlfriend?"

"Uhh," Dawn groaned aloud, flopping back into the deck chair. "Okay now I'm definitely glad that I'm taking an extended vacation away from Sinnoh. After that single sentence the entire region probably has the wrong idea." It was just then that Dawn remembered something. "Oh no, my mom reads this paper."

As soon as she said that Pikachu and Piplup burst out laughing, much to Dawn's annoyance.

"It's not funny guys," she told them as a tinge of bright red spread across her face. "It's going to take a long time to truly convince her otherwise. And if you keep this up I'll find a way to get my payback."

Of course neither stopped laughing.

"Why would they put that in there?" Ash asked after completely reading the article. "She was just helping me out of the crowd."

"That not how some people see it Ash," Brock informed him. "Besides, they want to sell papers, and saying you have a girlfriend helps more than just saying what the truth actually is. Especially since you didn't do any interviews."

"I'm actually starting to agree with Dawn, I don't think I'll be going back for a little while."

Looking over the rest of the page Ash was almost surprised at some of the information they had.

"They even have information about my battle with Cynthia. 'As of now the new Conference Champion has not set a date for the Elite Four Challenge. The current Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, declines to comment on when she thinks the challenger will be ready.' Wow, they can be pretty thorough at times, not to mention quick. But to think that Dawn is my girlfriend…"

"Please don't think into it too much Ash," the coordinator told him, still glaring at the giggling Pikachu.

"Yeah but this is just reminding me of my other problems." Handing the newspaper back to Brock, Ash got up and grabbed one of his Pokéballs. "I need to try and clear my head again."

* * *

><p>It was still several hours before the ship made its way into Pallet Town Port. The sun was already down below the horizon, but the faint glow from its rays covered the sky in a red-orange light.<p>

Walking down off of the ship, the three companions and their Pokémon stepped off to the side letting the rest of the passengers walk by.

"So what are you planning to do Brock?" Ash asked. "Because I think it's a little late to try and make it to Pewter City."

"I was thinking that I could make it to Viridian before it got too late, and then get back home tomorrow."

"It's probably a bit later than you were originally thinking though if you wanted to get that far tonight, how about you spend the night at my house and set out tomorrow. We should have plenty of room and I don't think my mom will mind."

"Thanks Ash, I think I'll have to take you up on that offer," his older companion told him.

But it was Dawn that seemed a little more worried about it.

"I think it's going to be a little crowded tonight," she said quietly as they headed down the road to Pallet Town.

It was only a matter of a few minutes before the first houses came into view, but still another thirty before they started approaching the end of town where Ash's house was. As they got closer Ash slowly began to pick up his pace and by the time his house came into view he was already in a full jog. Pikachu had already moved his way down slightly so his feet were firmly on the top of Ash's backpack so he wouldn't fall off. Vaulting over the small white picket fence in front of it, he was at the door in no time flat.

"Mom, I'm home!" He called out as he entered the house.

Taking his shoes at the entryway, the trainer rushed into living room. He was just about to turn into the kitchen when a pair of voices he wasn't expecting reached his ears.

"Hey Ash, welcome home."

"Vee!"

Stopping dead in his tracks, both Ash and Pikachu turned and with a completely dumbstruck look saw somebody standing up from the couch walking up to greet them.

"Hi May," he somehow got out.

* * *

><p>Yes May is finally back. Though I don't doubt most of you foresaw that before we got to this point. But just because she's back doesn't mean that things will get any easier. So until next time, thanks for reading.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

It seemed many of you liked that newspaper article. Well that wasn't the only time it'll be mentioned. As always thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. Here's number six.

* * *

><p>"Hi May."<p>

Standing there in front of him was of course, May. Still dressed in her Johto outfit and Eevee on her shoulder, the brunette coordinator looked almost as if she was expecting him to be coming back around that time. Though one difference Ash did notice was that even in the few months away from her he must have gained another inch in height over the girl. And although it might just be because of what Dawn was pushing on him yesterday, he couldn't help but also notice that May was starting to turn into more of a young woman in that same amount of time. Either way, he was mentally hitting himself for looking at his best friend like that.

"It's great to see you again Ash!"

Taking a few more steps May brought Ash into a quick embrace, just as Brock, Dawn, and Piplup came through the door.

"It's great to see you too," Ash said back to her, returning the gesture after a moment of hesitation, almost still in disbelief that she was in front of him.

"Hi Brock, hi Dawn," May continued, giving a light hug to each of them as well. "It's been a while since we've all been together."

"Yeah it has," Brock said to her.

"It's great to see you again May," Dawn added in.

"Pika!"

Waving from Ash's shoulder Pikachu seemed to get over the fact that the new guests were here faster than his trainer.

"And how could I forget about you Pikachu?"

Grabbing the Pokémon from his perch, May brought him into her arms. Scratching in between his ears, the Electric-Type cooed softly and relaxed into the familiar hands.

"Eevee!"

The small fox happily looked down at her new co-passenger, greeting him warmly.

"Pikachu," he responded, although still slightly enthralled by May's fingers.

"Not that I'm mad to see you May, but why are you here?" Ash finally asked as she cuddled with his partner.

"Huh? What do you mean?" She inquired, looking up at him with a confused look on her face. "Didn't you ask me to come?"

"I did?"

"Yeah, you asked Dawn to send a message to me early yesterday to say that you were coming home today and to meet you here."

Shooting an accusing look over at Dawn, Ash saw the same mischievous smile that he hated grow across her face.

"_She was planning this the entire time, wasn't she?"_ He asked himself. _"That would explain a few things…"_

"Oh yeah, I remember now," he lied with a small chuckle. "Guess it just slipped my mind with everything that went on after the finals."

"And on that note, again, congratulations on your first league victory Ash."

"Hehe, thanks May."

"So are you two going to be staying for a while as well?" May asked, looking back at Brock and Dawn.

"I'm not at least," the eldest member spoke up. "I'll be leaving for home tomorrow morning."

"I for one though will be staying for a while," Dawn added in as she brought her egg case into the living room.

"So what's in there then?" As the other coordinator passed by, May couldn't help but notice the package.

"Oh this? It's a Pokémon egg."

Taking the incubator out of the case, Dawn proudly presented it to her friend. And the yellow stars across its surface caught most of their attention.

"Wow, that's great Dawn!" May beamed while looking at it. "So where did you get it from?"

"Well I got it…" Before she finished, the blunette suddenly came up with a wonderful version of payback. "It's actually an egg from my Buneary."

"Really?"

Both Pikachu and Ash stiffened slightly at her response. Ash because he had a feeling that something bad was going to come out of her mouth, but Pikachu had that premonition for a different reason. He was already guessing as to what she was going to say.

"Yep, it's an egg from my Buneary and Ash's Pikachu."

And he guessed right. Pikachu could feel a cold chill run down his spine as a set of eyes glared right at him. Turning around he could see Eevee staring at him, and if he didn't know better he could have almost sworn that her eyes were starting to tear up.

But before he could say anything the Normal-Type jumped down to the floor, and with a defiant "Vee" started to walk away.

"Pikachu!" He finally got out after working his way out of May's arms. "Pika pika pikachu!" He tried to explain after catching up to her. "Pika?"

"Eevee," she said while turning her head away.

"Pi?"

"What's up with them?" May wondered as she watched the two Pokémon start to walk off.

Barely able to hold back her laughter, Dawn decided that the mouse probably learned his lesson by now.

"Actually that was just to pay Pikachu back for something earlier today," the blunette answered. "Truth is it's not either his or my Buneary's egg. My mom gave it to me as a present for my first Grand Festival and she didn't tell me what kind of Pokémon is actually inside."

"Ah, but what was the reason you had to play the trick on Pikachu?"

It was Dawn's turn to stiffen up slightly.

"Oh that? It was nothing important, just something kinda embarrassing" she tried to explain away with a small laugh, even if the other coordinator didn't completely buy it.

Sadly for Pikachu, even though both he and Eevee could hear what Dawn said, Eevee didn't seem too interested in listening.

"Pikachu," he pleaded as they started to complete a circle around the room and back towards their trainers.

"Vee," the Evolution Pokémon said one last time before bounding up onto Ash's shoulder and happily rubbing her cheek up against his neck, earning a chuckle from the trainer.

"It's nice to see you too Eevee," he said between laughs.

Pikachu could barely believe his eyes, the fact that she still didn't believe him seemed to hurt far more than he expected.

Walking back up towards Ash, he caught a quick glare from her aimed right at him. It wasn't her usual death glare like she sometimes did, which was usually laughed off when aimed at May or one of her companions, this time it looked more like anger with a bit of a sense of betrayal mixed in. But he got the rest of it rather easily. Continuing past Pikapi, he slowly made his way back into May's arms.

"Looks as though it might take a little while for these two to make up from that little joke," May commented as she heard a quiet "Chu" come from the Electric-Type. She could only wonder what made Dawn do it in the first place, but the blunette did look to be somewhat worried about the reaction, even if it wasn't all that obvious. Almost as if she didn't expect it to be this much. "Don't worry; knowing these two it shouldn't be too long before they make up." Focusing her attention back to the rest of the group, the brunette knew that there was probably one other thing on their minds. "Okay everyone, Mrs. Ketchum should be done with a late supper for you guys pretty soon. She held off on it to make sure it was ready when you all got back."

Holding back as May walked into the kitchen and out of sight, Ash stopped Dawn with a hand to her shoulder as Brock walked past.

"Okay so I assume this was all your idea with May coming over, isn't it?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"Maybe," the coordinator responded with an innocent smile. "But aren't you glad that she's here? Now you have a good reason to keep thinking about those questions, and you can spend time with her in the process."

"I knew there had to be a reason you suddenly brought all this up last night."

"Now Ash, what better way to understand how you feel then when you are right next to her? Memories can only tell you so much you know."

Grumbling, he couldn't find anything to comeback at her after that statement.

"So Piplup, ready to go and eat?" Dawn asked her Pokémon as they started heading for the kitchen again.

"Vui?"

Looking over, Ash had almost forgotten that he had Eevee and not Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Eevee," he told the small Pokémon. "It's just something between me and Dawn. Now let's go see if the food is ready."

Cocking her head in curiosity, the Evolution Pokémon decided to let it slide for now. Lying back down on his shoulder, she had forgotten how much she liked it up here, not as much as May's of course, but a rather close second.

* * *

><p>Walking into the kitchen, Ash and Eevee were hit with the wonderful smells that permeated out as Delia put the various foods down on the table where Dawn, Brock, May, Pikachu, and Piplup were already sitting.<p>

"Welcome home dear," Delia said to her son after setting the last piece down. "And congratulations on winning your tournament," she added along with a hug.

"Thanks Mom, it's great to be home again."

"It's great to have you home, and even though we have more guests than I was expecting we should still have enough to eat."

Sure enough as per her usual, the entire table was filled with food. And again, as usual, after only moments after they started most of it was flying into only two mouths.

"Now this is a sight I've nearly forgotten," Brock said with a light laugh as he watched two of his friends. "Their appetite never fails to amaze me."

"I've only seen it a few times myself," Dawn added in. "And I still don't believe it."

"My boy just has a healthy appetite," Delia said without hesitation.

"I think that's about five people's worth of a 'healthy appetite'," the blunette couldn't help but blurt out.

The feast had only just begun minutes ago, but Ash and May were both through with their first plateful and going for seconds.

"Great food as always Mom," Ash thanked as he grabbed some more mashed potatoes.

"It really is Mrs. Ketchum," May agreed.

Interestingly enough two of the three Pokémon seemed completely unfazed at the sight. Eevee and Pikachu just calmly grabbed various pieces of food from the plates that were next to them. While it wasn't always to this extent, it wasn't uncommon for their trainers to act like this. Although every time Pikachu looked over towards Pikapi and Eevee, if the latter caught sight of his glance she quickly turned away. Though he did notice that throughout the dinner her reaction seemed to slowly contain less and less anger.

"So Ash, what are you planning to do now?" Delia asked her son.

"As of right now all I know is that I'm going to have to set a date for my match with the Sinnoh Elite Four and Cynthia. Until then I 'm just going to have to prepare for it," Ash told her, playing with his food a little. He didn't want to bring up the problems with Paul right away, those were his problems and he didn't want his mom to start worrying too. Feeling a soft paw placed on his hand he could see Eevee right next to him, giving him a soft "vee" along with the cutest face she could muster, Ash knew what she wanted. "So I need to first figure out what Pokémon I'll use in the battles and then try to improve our skills." As he was saying this, the noodles on his fork were disappearing as he fed them to the happy Normal-Type. "But I have a lot of things on my mind right now so I'm not sure exactly when that'll happen."

"Things like what?"

Caught slightly off guard by his mom's question, Ash tried his best to act as though nothing was wrong but he couldn't help but let his eyes wander over to May. As he did, all the thoughts that he was originally trying to sort out came right back to the forefront of his mind, and the blush was soon to follow.

"Nothing too major at least," he tried to cover up. "Mostly things related to coming battles."

For his mom and May, his answer seemed more than acceptable. Though his other two companions knew exactly what he was talking about.

Much to Ash's relief that specific topic didn't return as everyone finished their dinner. The conversations were mostly about what people were planning to do, although with the topic brought up in the first place Ash was rather displaced in his own thoughts while the others were more involved.

Eventually the meal ended and the kids headed out into the living room as Delia stayed back to clean up.

While his friends sat down on the couch and chairs, Ash went over and grabbed his new trophy to put with his other awards. Moving them around slightly, the trainer made some room right in the center and placed his new pride and joy in the spot.

"There," he said after it was positioned just perfectly. "Another addition to my growing collection, and it's one of the best looking yet. Don't you agree?"

"Eevee!"

"The new Sinnoh League Champ's ego is growing too, isn't it Ash?" May asked with a happy Pikachu lying on her lap.

"I wouldn't say that."

Turning back around and heading for the couch, Ash couldn't help but rub the back of his head in embarrassment.

With everyone joining in laughing at the trainer, Dawn realized something that she forgot to do when she got off the boat.

"Dang it!" She said without thinking. Getting up with Piplup, Dawn took a quick look around the room. "Ash do you have a video phone? I forgot to call my mom when I got here."

"Sure, it's over there in the corner," he told her, pointing off in the direction.

"Thanks."

Rushing over to the phone, Dawn quickly typed in the number. It took only a few rings before a blue haired woman appeared on the screen. Looking on from where they were sitting, the coordinator's companions could easily see the conversation.

"Hi Mom," Dawn told the lady. "Sorry about the late call, I got caught up with a few things here."

"That's fine Dawn, I'm just glad to know that you made it over there safely. Were you able to get the package I sent to you?"

"Yep, they delivered it to the Pokémon Center as we were preparing to leave, so I got it just in time. Thanks Mom. Think you can tell me what Pokémon the egg is from?" The coordinator asked with an innocent smile.

"Nice try Dawn, you'll find out when it hatches."

"Dang."

Looking past her daughter, Johanna saw a familiar, and now famous, face sitting behind her. "Oh and there's Ash and Brock. Hi you two! Congratulations on your victory Ash, most of Sinnoh is still talking about some of your battles. But as for you Dawn, why didn't you tell me?"

"Huh? Tell you what Mom?" Dawn asked, completely confused.

"About your new boyfriend," she responded with a coy grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Even though she said that, the blunette knew exactly what she was probably referencing.

"It's all over the newspaper dear."

Pulling the newspaper up to the viewing screen, everyone there could see the same article that Brock showed them, much to Ash's fear.

"It's not true!" Ash and Dawn yelled out simultaneously, their faces bright red.

"The newspaper just jumped to conclusions!" Dawn added.

"Oh? Does Ash already have a girlfriend then?" Johanna asked, seemingly not believing her daughter. "Is is the pretty girl next to him on the couch?"

"Mom, I think that's enough," her daughter said as she tried to stop the woman from asking those questions, knowing that they could very well be detrimental to her plans.

Looking back at the two young teens, Dawn felt slightly relieved at seeing them both blushing, even if it was Ash far more so than May. May didn't seem too fazed by the comment after a quick glance over at Ash.

"Thank you ma'am," she said while looking over at the phone's camera, the light red color of her face was barely visible but if she even noticed it the brunette continued while lightly petting Pikachu. "And Dawn's right, I'm actually just an old friend of Ash's who traveled with him until about a year ago."

Ash on the other hand was having a hard time trying to not make eye contact not only with May but everyone else there. It wasn't that he was overly embarrassed at the comment; it was more because he saw it as one more person who assumed that they were a couple before he even knew how he felt. And almost as a reflex to help clear his mind of it, he began to put his focus on the ball of fur in his lap. Even if at that moment he barely realized that it wasn't Pikachu who was sitting there. Looking down at the Normal-Type who had curled up in his lap he began to switch between scratching the Pokémon underneath her chin and just behind her ears. Immediately responding to his touch the small Pokémon cooed and melted into his hands, not even starting to care for the reason as to why she was suddenly getting the attention.

"Yeah, she's an old friend that came to visit on her way back home," he helped clarify.

Even if the two humans that they were with seemed a little bothered by the comment the older woman made to them, both Pokémon who were being used to divert their thoughts on the situation could virtually care less about the situation as they gave of content sighs while Ash and May caressed their fur.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed that you two…" Shaking her head Johanna decided that it might just be best to drop the topic, although she did notice the two young teens' reaction to her saying it. "Well in that case you should try a little harder to get him then Dawn, before he really does get taken. I always thought you two made a cute couple, and apparently I'm not alone in that thinking."

"Mom!"

"Just a suggestion. Okay, well I'll let you go then," she said with light laugh. "I'm sure that you don't want to be talking to me all night right at the start of your vacation. Good luck everyone, and Dawn make sure that you call me when you decide on where you're planning to go next."

"I will Mom, don't worry."

"Then I'll talk to you later, goodnight dear. Goodnight Piplup."

"Goodnight Mom."

"Piplup pip!"

Disconnecting the phone call, Dawn sighed a bit while looking back at her companions, a look of complete embarrassment on her face. But before she could say anything to change the topic, someone beat her to it.

"So Ash, what are you planning on doing tomorrow?" May asked the boy, completely unaware of what was going on in his head. "Are you going to start training or find someplace to relax for a while longer?"

"Huh?" Finally snapping completely back in, Ash looked over at May. Shaking his head, he tried to get the current thoughts out of his head. Even he understood that he wouldn't be able to talk to May normally while actively debating himself about his feelings for her. "Sorry, what did you say May?"

"I asked what you're planning on doing tomorrow," she repeated herself. "Are you okay Ash? You've had a weird look on your face ever since you got back."

"No I'm fine May, like I said before I just have a lot to think about right now." Giving a second to try and figure out an answer not only to May but for himself, Ash came up with something for the time being. "Seeing as how it's a little too late to do anything else tonight I'll probably start by going to Professor Oak's lab tomorrow morning to visit my Pokémon and start to figure out which ones I'll use for my battles. While I don't know when I'll decide to have it, I know I will at least try to battle them before my time runs out. That way we can start everything off without it feeling like work."

"Sounds good to me." Giving off a small yawn, May looked at the clock she was surprised that it was already nearly ten at night. "Wow, I didn't realized how late it was."

"Yes, well they didn't get back until nine so it's not surprising," Delia said as she came from the kitchen. "I know it's not good to go to sleep right after you eat but I think it's best if everyone got some rest. You all had a long day of traveling and it'll make a bed will feel even better. Although we only have one spare bedroom so you'll have to figure out sleeping arrangements. Goodnight everyone, see you in the morning," the young mom waved as she went upstairs.

"So is everyone planning to go to sleep then?" Brock asked, looking from person to person.

"I am at least," May told him, while stretching her arms a little to stay awake. "To make it here on time I've been walking far more than usual these last couple days."

"Sorry."

Without even thinking, Ash apologized to her. Everyone in the room looked at him with a surprised expression on their face. Ash even caught himself off guard when he said it, especially because he wasn't the one to ask her to come in the first place. The silence was finally broken by May's laughter.

"Why are you apologizing Ash?" She asked. "You only asked me to come visit, it was my choice to try and get here before you arrived. You have nothing to say you're sorry for."

"Yeah, I guess."

"In that case we should all retire to bed," Dawn spoke up. "And I think the easiest way for everyone to sleep is for Brock to take the spare room, while May and I get Ash's room."

"Huh? And where am I supposed to sleep?" Ash asked at the blunette's suggestion.

"The couch should be fine for you tonight," she told him with a smile as she started for the stairs with Piplup in her arms.

"But…"

Walking back up behind him, Dawn lowered her head to his ear.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "I'll let May use your bed."

"That's not what I meant!"

Just laughing it off, Dawn next went behind May and pulled Pikachu off of her lap.

"I'll be borrowing him for a moment."

Bringing him in close, Dawn began to happily cuddle with him. Even while she was rubbing up against him, Pikachu wasn't sure how to react to her after what she did.

"Sorry Pikachu."

Perking his ears up at the blunette's voice, he turned around to look at her. While she was hugging him, the coordinator whispered softly into his ear, just enough for his sensitive hearing to make it out but virtually impossible for anyone else there to know anything.

"I said that joke earlier to get back for laughing at me, but I didn't expect her to take it that badly. Will you forgive me?"

Giving it a little thought, Pikachu couldn't help but accept. Especially considering she did have a good reason at first. Besides, while Eevee was still avoiding him she didn't seem nearly as angry as when Dawn first brought it up.

"Pika," he nodded.

"Thank you."

Suddenly remembering that she wasn't alone, Dawn looked back up to see everyone staring at them.

"What? It's always fun to hug a fuzzy Pokémon before going to bed!"

Dropping the Electric-Type back into May's lap she stepped back and started to head upstairs.

"Goodnight everyone."

"Piplup."

Sighing at the continued actions of his friend, Ash could only wonder what she had planned now that May was here as well. The one thing he did know was that she brought up everything last night for a reason, and with the girl in question now with him again because of that same person, it wasn't hard to know what she wanted.

"Then if nobody has any objections, I'm heading off as well," Brock said while heading to the stairs as well. "See you guys in the morning."

After he left, it was only Ash, May and their two Pokémon left in the room.

"Sorry Ash," the brunette apologized.

"For what?"

"Your first time home in nearly a year and you don't even get to sleep in your own room."

"Now who's the one who is apologizing without reason?" The boy asked with a playful smile on his face. "Dawn was the one who suggested it; it's not your fault."

"Guess we are kinda alike," she told him with a giggle.

Getting up, the brunette stepped in front of Ash.

"But before we go to bed I think we're going to have to swap passengers again, even with them looking as content as they are. Come on Eevee, time for bed. You'll see Ash again tomorrow."

Looking up from her place on Ash's lap, Eevee reluctantly obeyed. Taking one last look at Ash, she rubbed up against him before bounding back up to her trainer's shoulder. Catching Pikachu's eyes for a moment she looked away, but after a few seconds couldn't help but check if he was still looking at her. Catching his eyes once more, she turned away; even though she felt strangely happy knowing that he was staring at her.

Pikachu continued to watch her for a few moments and after she turned away the second time with no indication that she would look back, he rubbed up against May's hand before jumping down to next to his trainer.

"Goodnight Ash," the brunette said to him as she headed for the stairs.

"Goodnight May."

Watching his friend head towards the stairs, Ash was about to collapse down onto the couch, but just before taking the first step up to the second floor, she stopped.

"Hey Ash?" The girl asked without turning back around. "What Dawn said, is it true that she isn't your girlfriend?"

Caught completely off guard by her question, Ash could barely find the words to answer her.

"Yeah," he finally said. "It's true; I don't have a girlfriend right now."

Ash couldn't see her face so he had no clue what she was thinking. But she wasn't moving from that spot.

"May? Is something wrong?"

Turning around to face him, all Ash saw was her normal smile. Even still, the simple gesture made his entire body relax just by looking at it.

"Nope, I should have known that someone like you wouldn't be able to get a girlfriend that easily. It's just nice to know that my Ash that I know is still as clueless as ever about the topic."

"Hey!"

"But," she said while turning back around. "After a year apart I could only wonder how you've really changed, and I started to think that it might actually be true."

The trainer could only stare at her as she stood there, probably just as confused about her words as she was.

"Night," May finally said before jogging up the stairs.

Ash just sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out exactly what happened.

"Was there some special meaning behind that conversation?" He finally asked his Pokémon.

"Pikachu."

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't know either Buddy, but it was worth a try."

* * *

><p>I think this chapter was a little choppy but hopefully it wasn't too bad. Next chapter will be as scheduled.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Welcome back to chapter seven. Not much to say from the last one so thanks to all those who reviewed it.

* * *

><p>"<em>Why in the world did I ask that?"<em>

After walking upstairs and taking care of her normal nighttime routine, May opened the door to Ash's room trying to figure out her earlier actions. With the moonlight filtering in through the window she figured that it wasn't worth bothering to turn on the lights just long enough to get ready.

"_It's not even like I should care if he does or doesn't, right? It doesn't have any effect on me. The only thing I do know is that for some reason I just suddenly felt like I had to know the answer or it wouldn't get out of my head. I just hope Ash doesn't take it the wrong way," s_he sighed. _"Remember, part of the reason that you came here was to help forget that and move on. You just need to have some fun before you head out again."_

"So what did you talk to Ash about?"

Jumping slightly at the sound of her voice, May turned around to see Dawn lying on the floor in her sleeping bag with her egg and Piplup sitting next to her. In the time it took for her eyes to adjust to the room's darkness she didn't initially see her current roommate.

"What makes you think that I was talking to Ash about something?" The brunette asked while starting to change into her pajamas.

"No need to be defensive May, unless you have something you want to hide," Dawn added with a sly smile. "But if you want to know, I overheard you saying something to him after I finished brushing my teeth. I couldn't make out what you said but I figured you waited until after everyone was gone for a reason. So I'm just curious."

"Alright if you're that curious about it then I'll tell you. I was asking him a couple more questions about the Sinnoh League," the brunette told the other coordinator as plainly as possible.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Folding her clothes and setting them aside, May turned around with Eevee in her arms to finally notice something.

"Dawn, if you were here first why didn't you grab the bed? Shouldn't it be more comfortable?"

"Nope, I'm good. I'll just take the spare room once Brock leaves tomorrow, so it makes more sense that you can keep the same bed while we're here."

Not entirely believing the reason that the other girl gave, May still couldn't see anything wrong with it. Walking over she pulled back the light blue colored covers and set Eevee down next to the pillow before getting in the bed herself. The small Pokémon paced around a few times before finding the best spot and curled up in a little ball. Before she fell asleep though she wondered about her reaction to the blue haired devil's 'joke'.

Even if it took a while, Eevee understood now that it really wasn't his. But she surprised herself at the feelings she felt at the idea that it was his egg. Jealousy wasn't something too surprising, but the feeling of being betrayed was one that hit a little harder. Especially considering that they weren't even mates, though she had to admit that she didn't like the idea that he was with someone besides her. Like her trainer to his trainer, she had always looked up to him as a type of mentor or role model, and ever since she first thought about it the Normal-Type had always envisioned that he was her ideal mate; powerful, brave, caring, and protective. Although now that they were back together she couldn't help but feel a little shy around him now that she was old enough, particularly with the egg idea now brought up. The discomfort that also came with figuring out if he would deem her worthy enough of that spot next to him was also starting to weigh on her in addition to that shyness.

Sighing lightly as she thought about it, she could slowly start to smell his faint scent from the spot she was on and it take too long until she figured that where she lying was probably the same spot he slept in while at home. Feeling a slight sense of safety and comfort from the fact, she gave one last yawn and was soon asleep.

Lying back, May stared at the ceiling wondering what was going to happen in the coming days and weeks.

"Hey May, mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what do you want to know?"

Looking down at Dawn, May could see the blunette rolled over on her side staring up at her.

"From what I can tell you've done real well in the Grand Festivals so far right?"

"Um, yeah. For the most part at least."

"For the most part?" Not hearing anything from the girl, Dawn decided to just continue. "Think you could give me a few tips while we're here? While I did pretty well for my first time in a Grand Festival a couple weeks ago I still have a lot more to learn, so I was hoping to get some ideas from you."

"Sure Dawn," May told her. "I'm not sure how much help I can be but I'll help where I can."

"Thanks." Pausing momentarily, Dawn spoke up once more. "Hey May?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think love is?"

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?" May asked, wondering how the topic went from contests to love that fast.

"I was just thinking that we could have a little girl talk, that's all. You can ask me the same questions after if you want, I'm just curious and want to compare."

"Love huh?" Looking back up at the ceiling, May thought about it for a moment. "That's a hard one. I'm not sure exactly what it feels like, but someone once told me of a saying that said along the lines that the boy you love holds your second heart. So that's what I've always thought of it as, a person that feels so good to be around that it feels as though they complete you. And until you find that certain someone you feel as though you're only one half of the whole."

"That's an interesting way of looking at it."

"How about you Dawn?"

"Well, for one I have to say that I kind of like your definition. I've always thought of it as having someone that will always be there for you, through thick and thin. To give that boost of confidence when you need it the most, to give you endless compliments about how you look, protect you from any and all dangers or troubles without even a second thought, and someone who will always be there when you feel like crying." Even if she was doing this more for the sake of another, Dawn could feel a warm sensation come over her as she thought about what it would be like to actually have someone like that with her. Although she said some of that focusing directly on Ash, the blunette had to shake the thoughts of her having him like that for herself out of her head. "So, on that note, do you have a boy you like?"

"What?"

Sitting up in bed, the brunette looked straight down at the other coordinator.

"It's just a question," Dawn defended herself. Although unbeknownst to May she was rather relieved that unlike Ash, May knew exactly what she meant at that question and not the dense answer 'of course, they're my friend'. But then again from her previous question only someone like Ash wouldn't have connected those dots. "Or does that mean you do like somebody?"

"Well nobody in particular."

Dropping back down onto the bed, May tried to get out of Dawn's view. She was fidgeting slightly but she didn't know exactly why. She was never embarrassed to talk about other people's love or tease Ash about it, but whenever it came to herself it was a different story.

"So there is one," Dawn said, as if that's what May had answered.

"I never said that! There just aren't too many boys that I can spend enough time around to develop those kinds of feelings for."

"And how many would you think would fall under that category? Ignoring Brock, for obvious reasons, I think you and Ash would be close enough to fit those terms."

"_Why is she bringing all of this up now of all times,"_ May complained to herself. _"I'm still not even sure why I felt I needed to know why Ash had a girlfriend and now I get these questions thrown at me."_

"Alright fine," she conceded, knowing that her friend would probably only continue to make implications until she answered the question. "But let me make one thing clear, considering what you seem to be implying, I am not in love with Ash."

"_Oh I've heard that line before,"_ Dawn silently snickered.

"Besides Ash, there's probably only three or four. Although two of them I don't think would make very good boyfriend material. Sometimes it has to do with their personality, well one of those two it's definitely his personality, I sometimes can forget he's even a guy." Shuttering at the thought of being Harley's girlfriend, May tried to put that thought as far back in her mind as it could go. "But a good part has to be that they are rivals of mine that I go up against in contests all the time. And I just see more problems than are needed if a couple is consistently going up against each other like that. Interestingly enough they both seem so to be associated with the color green…"

"_Well at least there isn't much competition for Ash on that side,"_ Dawn thought as she heard May's answer. But it was just then that she got an interesting idea. _"Hmm, now that's good. I could actually use that damn newspaper to my advantage as a bit of leverage. I'm not sure if it will work but if I'm going to use it I'll have to make sure that I don't go overboard or it could backfire. I don't want May thinking that Ash is already taken."_

"So who are the boys then?"

"Do I really have to answer that?" May couldn't help but whine.

"Not really, but I'll keep asking it until you tell me."

Groaning, May decided it was just easier to tell her and get it over with. It's not as though Dawn could do anything with them anyways, they were all just friends.

"Alright, the four that come to mind first would be Ash of course, a childhood friend who I haven't seen in years named Brendan, and two of my rivals that I mentioned earlier, Drew and Harley. Okay so now that I've revealed that, I'm going to have to take you up on your earlier offer," May said after spilling her secrets. "So you have any boys that you like?"

"_Just like I was hoping would happen,"_ Dawn thought.

"I'm kind of in the same boat as you, I wouldn't say that I have anybody close enough to say that I would definitely want them as a boyfriend but it would be interesting to learn more about them and see if I actually do like them like that. I have about three myself; while I only saw him a few times in Sinnoh, I have to say that I've taken a slight liking to someone who is apparently one of Ash's old friends and rivals, Gary Oak, interestingly enough another one is a rival of Ash's, Paul, and finally like you Ash is probably the closest I could consider to say that I like in that way."

"I never said that I like Ash like that!"

May closed her mouth quickly after realizing what she said, but even still she could feel her heart beat quicken for some reason.

"And neither did I," Dawn said to her with another sly smile. "I just more-or-less said that he would be interesting to consider for a boyfriend. He's kind, hardworking, and kinda cute. Not bad traits to start off with when considering a boyfriend don't 'cha think?"

"Yeah…" May was still self-conscious by her outburst, so saying much more than that seemed like it would only make the situation worse.

"Well as much as I want to continue, I think I'm going to sleep," the blunette told her while faking a yawn.

"Wait, you want to stop right there?"

"We can talk about it more tomorrow if you want, but right now I think sleep will be better."

Dawn was perfectly content to end on that note, and she was hoping that it could hit twofold. If things worked correctly, she could play both sides and hopefully make everything even easier.

"_My little puppet show has only just begun,"_ she thought happily. _"And now that I think of it, only tweaking one string won't be enough. The only question now is how long will it take for the puppets start moving on their own?"_

Sure enough, May's mind was thinking exactly like Dawn had predicted. With that topic brought up in that way, virtually no teenage girl could keep herself from thinking about it. The big problem for May though was that it brought up the image of the newspaper that Johanna showed them along with the older woman openly telling Dawn to try to go for Ash, and it was at that time she felt her heart beat faster again, but this time a very slight pain could be felt along with it.

"_Why did that suddenly come back to me? I believe Ash when he says that Dawn isn't his girlfriend, but I wonder if she is actually thinking about it."_ The brunette wondered as she rolled over to her side. Looking over at Eevee sleeping soundly next to her, May felt a smile come to her face. Reaching out to lightly pet the sleeping Pokémon she could hear a soft coo as the Normal-Type unconsciously leaned up into her hand. _"Oh well, it's not that big of a deal."_

Giving off a yawn of her own, the coordinator relaxed into the pillow and soft bed. But as she did a faint smell came to her nose. It wasn't strong enough for her to identify it but somehow it relaxed her and soon she was in a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning everyone was waking to the smell of breakfast in the air. Being the one who spent the night on the couch, Ash was the first one to smell it and likewise was the first one out of bed. Followed closely by May and Dawn with Brock taking his time.<p>

"I had almost forgotten how much I missed seeing these meals," Ash commented as he saw the breakfast his mom had made.

While it didn't compare to last night's meal, it was still a good deal of food seeing as how Delia prepared it for four growing children and a few Pokémon.

"I'll take that as the first compliment of the day dear," Delia said as she placed a large plate of scrambled eggs on the table.

"Thank you Mrs. Ketchum," the other kids added in.

The meal was rather uneventful as the impromptu family ate and talked. The only bit of uneasiness was between Pikachu and Eevee. Although the discomfort didn't seem as bad to Pikachu as it did the day before. She was acting more like right before everyone went upstairs for the night. Except that every time they would make eye contact, Eevee would look away and try to focus elsewhere. Even still, the Electric-Type was thoroughly confused by her actions. Was she still mad at him? Or was it something else?

"Thanks again Mom."

Getting up, Ash was the first one done, but wearing only his current sleeping attire of gym shorts and a t-shirt, he knew he needed a shower and a change of clothes to start off the day better.

Walking into the bathroom with Pikachu still on his shoulder, Ash began preparing for his shower.

"So who do you think we should choose for those battles Pikachu? This is the Elite Four and Cynthia we're talking about so while I would like to bring all of them we have to be careful and choose carefully. And even if we need to go up against Paul first, if we're ready for the Elite Four we should be ready for him."

"Pikachu."

"Don't worry, you're coming by default." Stepping into the shower, Ash continued. "We've been through everything together so there's no way I would leave you out of the biggest point in our lives so far. But we still need another five Pokémon to go with us. Going from a purely power standpoint; Charizard, Sceptile, Torterra, Infernape, and Staraptor would be solid choices considering they are not only fully evolved but have evolved twice. Snorlax, Donphan, Heracross, and Tauros are close behind and, besides a couple of the ones I just mentioned, are by far my best physical powerhouses. Glalie, Bulbasaur, Quilava, Noctowl, Buizel, Swellow, Torkoal, Corphish, and Bayleef would be nice to have with their special attacks and maneuverability, but although I don't like saying it, they might have a little harder time keeping up with some of my other more evolved Pokémon. The others either don't have enough experience battling or are outshined by some of my more powerful Pokémon." Pausing momentarily, Ash couldn't help but ask something. "Hey Pikachu, do you think it's bad of me to sort my Pokémon like that?"

"Pi?"

"I mean by them being stronger or weaker than another."

"Pikachu pika pika chu."

"I know, but I still hate to think about it. But when it comes to battles like these I almost have to look at it like in this fashion. I mean, for example, I love Torkoal just as much as any of my other Pokémon and he tries his hardest when he battles, but when going up against an Elite Four class trainer that isn't enough. Charizard and Infernape are both Fire-Types as well but they have vast amounts of more experience, and while his defense is impressive he can't even come close to their speed or power."

"Pika pika Pikapi."

"Yeah I know, I have a hard decision on my hands. I almost don't want to be in my shoes either. And it isn't one that I'm looking forward to."

Turning off the water and walking out with a towel on, Pikachu could see Ash was really starting to worry about his decision.

"I guess the only good thing that is coming off of this is that I can keep my mind off of the issue of May and myself. Speaking of which, has Eevee forgiven you yet? I know it wasn't your fault but she didn't seem happy at all last night when Dawn said that."

"Pikachu."

"You don't know? Shouldn't you be able to tell? Even I know when a girl is mad at me."

The Mouse Pokémon proceeded to try and explain what he could to his partner.

"Well I don't know that to tell you Buddy. She doesn't sound as angry as last night but I don't really know enough to see why she is still avoiding you. Hopefully it won't last too long; you two were always great friends and were always together while we were still traveling together."

Getting dressed and finishing the last of his morning routine, Ash headed back downstairs to find his friends waiting for him in the living room.

"Guessing you guys were waiting for me?" He asked as he walked in.

"Yep, though we haven't been waiting too long," May told the trainer while standing up with Eevee in her arms.

"I've always wanted to meet Professor Oak in person, and getting to see the lab is only icing on the cake!" Dawn squealed with delight.

"Though you said that you are going back home, right Brock?" Ash asked his older companion.

"Yeah, I can hopefully get most of the way there by the end of today, so by tomorrow morning I can reach the house. That new road they built running north from Pallet Town will make my trip not only nice and easy but quick too."

Walking outside the four travelers walked together long enough until they reached the main road leading north out of Pallet.

"Guess this is goodbye already Brock," May said to him.

"It's been great traveling with you," Dawn added in. "I hope we bump into each other again in the future."

"And I don't think it'll be too long 'til I see you again at some point," Ash joked a bit.

"It's been great being with you guys," the old Gym Leader told them all. "After a few weeks I should be able take care of the things back home and maybe I'll join up with everyone again."

Quickly pulling Ash aside, he added one last thing in whispers.

"And if you need any more help with your efforts with May, don't be afraid to call me at any time."

Before Ash could even answer him, Brock was being pulled away by the ear.

"I have a good idea as to what you're talking about, and I'll say it again," Dawn said while lecturing him. "I'm not letting you corrupt his way of thinking."

Nervously laughing at the antics of his two friends, Ash just stayed silent.

"What did Dawn mean by 'corrupting your way of thinking' Ash?" May asked as the blunette dragged their friend away.

"I have no clue May," he lied, even if he actually hoped it was true.

"Well I'm off then," Brock finally said after Dawn released him, though he was still rubbing his ear which was bright red. "See ya guys later."

After their friend was nearly out of sight, the group started to make their way to the Oak Lab with Ash leading the way. It didn't take long to reach the ranch due to the relatively small size of Pallet Town, but with the ranch itself being several times the size of the town you were never far from it no matter where you were.

As they started up the stairs to the main house, Ash seemed to be very alert and his eyes never stopped looking around.

"What's the matter Ash?" Dawn finally asked, curious at his abnormal actions.

"Let's just say I'm preparing for the inevitable," he told her with a nervous laugh.

When they finally got to the door, the blunette was starting to get butterflies in her stomach knowing that just behind that door was the same person whose Pokémon poems she diligently listened to everyday. It was also because of this that she was very surprised to see Ash just open the door and walk right in.

"Professor, are you here?" He called out.

"Ash! Shouldn't you have knocked?" Dawn hissed at him.

"Why? It's not like he would have heard it anyways."

Even if Dawn was tentative about entering, she followed her two friends. Searching around the lab they found nothing but various pieces of equipment whose purpose they had no clue and countless Pokéballs.

"He's not in here; that means…" Ash gulped. "He's outside tending to the Pokémon."

"And what does that have to do with anything?" The blunette asked.

Much to her annoyance, she didn't get an answer, but Dawn did notice that as Ash opened the back door of the lab Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and moments later took the shoulder opposite to Eevee.

Though the Normal-Type felt a little timid about his proximity with the egg implications still in her head from last night, she normally would have jumped off and went to Ash's shoulder to get rid of that odd feeling and not have to deal with it. But she didn't even budge and endured it for now. She'd heard stories about what usually happens when Ash gets back home and she ignored her shyness as to not have to participate in it.

Ash took a few steps outside and to his relief nothing happened.

"Professor! Are you here? Ash wants to talk to you!"

Turning around quickly, he saw that it was May who called that out.

"Just speeding things up a bit," she told him with an innocent smile along with a few steps back. Tugging on Dawn's shirt, she pulled the other coordinator back along with her.

"Huh? Why are we…?"

"You'll see."

Almost as if on cue, a deep rumbling was slowly starting to shake the ground beneath their feet.

"Oh no," Ash groaned.

Looking past one of the hills, a cloud of smoke was starting to rise up getting larger by the second.

"What the heck is that?" Dawn wondered aloud.

It didn't take long for her to get an answer. As it got closer the cloud started to give way to multiple rampaging Bull Pokémon.

"Alright everyone, please calm down," Ash tried to reason with his Tauros. "You don't need to do this again."

Unfortunately for the poor trainer, they were too happy to see him that they weren't even listening. Before Ash could even turn to run they already overtook him, and when the dust settled he was nowhere to be found.

"What the heck were those things?" Dawn asked while watching the retreating Normal-Types.

"Ash's Pokémon," May told her. "Or his Tauros at least. And if I remember correctly you should probably be seeing a Grass-Type pretty soon, ah there she is."

Again as if on cue, a light green four-legged Pokémon with a leaf on its head sped by them, following the trail of the Tauros.

"Bay bay bay!"

"And that would be his Bayleef," the brunette continued while sitting down on the grass. "You might as well take a seat; it'll be a little while before she brings him back."

"Okay…"

Sure enough about ten minutes later, Bayleef came back into view carrying Ash. But this time instead of running after the Tauros she was running from Ash's other Pokémon.

"Hey Bayleef!" May called out. "Just bring him over here!"

Noticing the other two humans, Bayleef decided to do just that, setting her trainer down next to them.

"Why does this always happen to me?" Ash complained as Bayleef rubbed up against his hand.

"It's not over yet Ash," May pointed out.

"Oh no, not him!"

Interestingly enough the first of Ash's Pokémon following Bayleef was an amorphous mass of purple sludge.

"Muk!" The Pokémon called out as he started to literally smother his trainer with affection.

"Ugg, what kind of Pokémon is that?" Dawn gagged. "Wait, I think I remember seeing that before."

"Just be glad he doesn't smell anymore," Ash struggled to get out as he tried to push the Sludge Pokémon off of him. "Alright Muk I'm happy to see you too, now can you please get off?"

Finally getting off his trainer, Muk turned to the new humans there.

"Muk!"

Earning a sudden scream from the two girls, they were quick to their feet to try and avoid the overly friendly Pokémon.

Sighing as the Poison-Type seemed to forget about him, Ash felt something small and fuzzy make its way up to his shoulder. And when it brushed up against his cheek he knew it wasn't Pikachu either.

"Hey Eevee, back on my shoulder again?" He asked her with a quick scratch under the chin.

"Vee!"

As the first of the other Pokémon started to arrive, Bayleef started to feel something that she hadn't felt in a long time start to resurface, jealousy. She had gotten over the fact that Pikachu was real close to Ash and always traveled on his shoulder, but seeing this new Pokémon doing it as well just didn't sit right with her, especially with it being female and in her old spot.

"Bay!"

With a sudden groan, Ash felt the full weight of his Grass-Type suddenly hit his chest as she tackled him down to the ground and started to rub up against him as well.

Barely able to stay on, Eevee looked at Bayleef with a confused look on her face, wondering at first what the other Pokémon was thinking. Though watching her for a few moments Eevee figured it out, grinning slightly she decided to just poke a little fun at the newcomer.

"Vui," she said in the cutest voice she could muster.

Rubbing slowly but firmly up against Ash's cheek, the small fox gave off content purring noises as she moved down to his neck.

With Bayleef sitting right on top of Ash, it was almost impossible not to miss it. And the red tinge she was getting was proof of that.

"Eevee you aren't helping the situation," Ash pleaded with the Pokémon.

"Vee?"

Looking up at him, she decided to take it one step further before stopping. Rubbing up against his cheek once more, she gave the trainer a quick lick before cuddling back in, almost as if that was her spot where she belonged.

For Bayleef that was the last straw, but before she could do anything Ash intervened.

"Bayleef just get off me so I can explain!"

The tone of his voice wasn't desperation or pleading, it was the one he gave her in battles, and although she wasn't happy with what was going on she reluctantly obeyed.

"Thank you."

Sitting up on the grass, Ash finally was able to take a deep breath again.

"Bayleef it's not what it looks like," he told the Grass-Type. "Eevee isn't even my Pokémon, she's May's. And while I admit she does sit on my shoulder on occasion, she's also very mischievous at times. Including right now…"

Looking down at the ball of fur on his shoulder, she just looked back at him with an innocent "vee" escaping her lips. While she originally did it purely for the entertainment value, Eevee couldn't deny to herself that she did enjoy it. He was after all the only human she trusted anywhere close to the level of May.

Sighing, he looked back at Bayleef.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't replace you that easily," he told her while petting her.

"Bay."

Rubbing back up against his hand, she accepted his explanation. Though the giggling Normal-Type wasn't helping her decision at that moment.

"Now I just wonder where May and Dawn ran off to?" He wondered aloud as the last of his Pokémon gathered around him. Hearing gasping breaths from behind him, Ash turned around to see the two girls along with Piplup and Pikachu slowly walking up to him.

"I think we finally lost it," Dawn panted as she collapsed down next to Ash.

"And here I thought I was ready for everything this time," May added in while likewise dropping down on the other side of Ash with Pikachu still clinging to her shoulder. "Ash, you do realize that your Muk is a little too friendly, right?"

"All too well, although Professor Oak would know even more than me." Looking back at the Pokémon gathered around him, Ash got to his feet and in a loud voice called out to them all. "I'm home guys, and it's great to see you all!"

The sounds of many different overjoyed Pokémon filled the air as they all crowded around their trainer in pure delight at seeing him again, many of them trying to push their way in to nuzzle against him.

"Yeah I missed you guys too," he got out while laughing along with his Pokémon.

"They really love him don't they?" Dawn asked May while watching the trainer.

"Mm-hmm," the brunette agreed. "He definitely one of a kind and they know that better than anybody."

"Alright everyone, time to meet my new Pokémon," Ash said after a while. "Come on out!"

Throwing his Pokéballs into the air, the multiple flashes of light transformed into the various Pokémon of his Sinnoh team. An impressive array of Pokémon appeared behind him, ranging from the massive Torterra who dwarfed every other Pokémon there, to the slightly cocky but lanky Infernape, and all the way down to the hyper active Gible.

"Guys, these are my other Pokémon that I caught before coming to Sinnoh. To everyone else, this is my Sinnoh team."

Conversations arose as they all started to meet and greet, and while that was going on Ash slipped away with his two human companions to try and escape the mayhem.

"As much as I love seeing them I'm never a fan of their greeting," he finally said as they came to the edge of a forest. Sighing, but with a smile on his face, Ash leaned back and sat down with his back up against a tree, still within view of his Pokémon.

"You really have a lot of them," Dawn commented while sitting near another tree and putting Piplup on her lap. May wasn't far behind as laid down in the grass with Pikachu resting on the top of her stomach.

"And that's not even all of them; there was actually a few missing. Snorlax for one is probably off sleeping somewhere and it would take more than that yelling to wake him up."

As he said that, Ash could feel the tree shake a little, as if something was moving up in the branches.

"At least you aren't one for that kind of greeting," he said to seemingly nobody. "Aren't you going to join everyone in greeting my new Pokémon, Sceptile?"

Looking up, Dawn saw a large gecko looking Pokémon sitting on a thick branch just above Ash. The funniest thing about the new creature was that it held a small twig in its mouth. He was staring off towards the new arrivals, eyeing every one of them. Though his focus seemed to linger on the massive Torterra longer than the rest.

"Tile," it grunted while looking away and closing his eyes.

"Yeah I know you're not one for situations like that."

"So that's yours as well I assume?" Dawn asked, looking in awe at the obviously agile and calm Pokémon.

"Yep, and he's one of my strongest too." Seeing Pikachu's ears twitch and his head turn back towards the forest, Ash could guess at who the new visitor was. "And this one was my third capture ever; along with Pikachu he is the last Pokémon that I still have on hand who were on my original team of six."

Looking back towards Ash, Dawn just saw a small quadruped Pokémon with a plant bulb on its back move up and rub up against Ash before lying down next to him.

"His name is Bulbasaur," Ash told her while starting to pet the Grass-Type. "And for the first time in over a year virtually everyone is back together." Looking up towards the blue sky, Ash started to feel quite relaxed.

"Bulba saur," the small Pokémon said from next to him.

"Pika pika pikachu, Pikapi," Pikachu translated.

"Thanks Bulbasaur, and now with everyone here, it finally does feel like home."

* * *

><p>And Dawn's plan has expanded along with answering a few questions that people probably had. Hope you enjoyed the read, reviews are always welcome and the next chapter will be up as usual.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Not as many people reviewed last chapter. While I can't force anyone to do so, I do greatly appreciate any comments or questions as it does help the rest of the story. Although as always, thank you to the ones who did review. Now, onward to chapter eight.

* * *

><p>After spending a few minutes reunited with his trainer, Bulbasaur got up and moved over to the other human that he recognized.<p>

"Hey Bulbasaur, it's been a while hasn't it?" May asked the Grass-Type as he sat down next to her. To Dawn he didn't seem as friendly to the coordinator as he did to Ash, but she just assumed that it must be part of his personality, considering he barely gave her even a look as of yet.

As she pet the Grass-Type, May thought that he might enjoy another old friend as well, even if she probably wasn't as he remembered.

"I have somebody that you will be happy to see as well Bulbasaur," the brunette said to him while pulling a Pokéball from her pack. "Although I think you might not recognize her at first."

Opening the red and white ball in her hand, the resulting flash of light revealed a Pokémon that made Bulbasaur immediately take several steps back. In essence the creature looked a lot like him, just bigger and her bulb had bloomed into a large red tropical flower with white spots on the petals, but Ash's Bulbasaur has always had an uneasy feeling toward his fully evolved form. In fact one could say that it was one of the few things he was actually scared of, although if confronted with this he would adamantly deny it.

The Venusaur that was right in front of him, however, reacted in nearly the exact opposite way. Seeing the smaller Pokémon, she instantly recognized him, and much to his discomfort she approached him. Noticing his apprehension as she took those few steps, the large Kanto starter stopped. At first she was a little heartbroken that he of all Pokémon was trying to avoid her. It took a few seconds before she understood why he was doing that, and immediately thought of a way to convey exactly who she was.

"Saur."

The deep resonating voice betrayed the gentle smile Venusaur had on. Reaching a thick vine out towards Bulbasaur, he started to slink down to his stomach as the vine came closer and right before it came down his fear finally took hold as he tightly closed his eyes and was nearly shivering. But when it finally reached him, all it did was rub him softly across the top of his head.

Realizing what was happening; Bulbasaur carefully opened his eyes again to see the gentle giant standing near him. He knew that action. In fact there was one Pokémon that he used to do it to all too often. After carefully studying the other Grass-Type, he finally understood who it actually was.

"Bulba?"

"Vena," it nodded.

"Bulba!"

Now realizing exactly who it was, Bulbasaur's uneasiness seemed to lift rather quickly. Extending his own vine up to the head of the Venusaur, Bulbasaur repeated the evolved Pokémon's earlier actions. Although as Bulbasaur's comparatively smaller vine looked very out of place petting the larger Venusaur, she didn't seem to mind one bit. As he did that simple motion the Seed Pokémon seemed very content. Even with them not only being apart for this length of time but her having become significantly bigger than him, that reassuring vine rub still brought back many pleasant memories. So caught up in those memories, the face that she gave off looked very out of place on her intimidating size, in that moment she was brought back to her time as a Bulbasaur as he oversaw her lessons in using attacks and it was that simple action that he used both as part of his reward for her getting it right and to help comfort her when she did something wrong.

For Bulbasaur it was an odd feeling. For the first time in his life he stood in awe of his fully evolved form. Here before him was once that little Bulbasaur he took under his wing, and for several months he showed her as many things as he could. Sure she was a little clumsy with her attacks and got distracted easily, but she was also a hard worker and willing to learn. Now the little Pokémon that he knew was a full grown Venusaur. But what amazed him the most was that looking past her new form he could still see that little Pokémon, looking very proud and happy at having her head rubbed by him.

"Isn't that cute," May declared as her Venusaur reacted to having her head rubbed. "It looks like those two remember each other at least."

"Yeah I was wondering how Bulbasaur would react to seeing your Venusaur," Ash admitted while watching the scene as well. "He's always had a slight case of being nervous around them, so even I'm quite surprised to see him being this calm about it."

"They seem to have a great connection between each other and look to be extremely close," Dawn pointed out. "Almost like their trainers."

"I don't think we're that close at least," May told the other coordinator with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah Dawn," Ash insisted with a similar laugh to May's, though he knew exactly why she was saying this almost out of the blue. "What made you think that?"

"No reason."

The trainer shuddered slightly at seeing Dawn's smile, considering that it was that smile he always hated.

"I think I'm going to head in and start figuring out who I'll be bringing to my battles with the Elite Four and Cynthia," he said suddenly while getting up to leave. "You mind staying with me Eevee?"

"Vee."

"I wonder if Professor Oak has any information on them," the trainer wondered aloud.

Heading back towards the lab and his other Pokémon, Ash tried to make it look as though that was the only thing on his mind. But with Dawn bringing up May like that again only made his mind start racing on his many different experiences with May compared several of the other girls he's known over the years.

"_Why is it that whenever that topic comes up I can't ever get it out of my head?"_ He thought, while dropping his head down in confusion. _"Do I actually like May like that and that is the reason I can't get it out of my head? Or is it just because Dawn has been bringing it up so often and it's nothing more than embarrassment?"_

"Vee?"

Putting a paw on face, Eevee could tell something wasn't right with him, though she didn't know what.

Looking over at the Normal-Type, Ash put on a small smile.

"Don't worry Eevee," he told the small Pokémon. "It's nothing that important. Just something that's been on my mind on for the last couple days. It should pass soon. Hopefully."

* * *

><p>Sitting there next to the now relaxing Venusaur and Bulbasaur, May and Dawn watched as Ash went inside of the large building.<p>

"So May, seeing as how Ash will be concentrating on that for a while, how about you start to give me some of those tips about coordinating," Dawn brought up.

"To be honest Dawn, I don't think that I'm up to it right now."

"Why's that?" The blunette asked, noticing that May's mood seemed to drop slightly while saying that. "You said last night that you wouldn't mind giving me a few tips from your experience."

"Yeah I know I said that, and I don't intend on going back on that promise. It's just that…" May paused for a moment. While she did her right hand snaked its way into the pocket of her blouse and seemed to grab hold of something. While she tried to be inconspicuous, Dawn was more observant than she expected. Something Ash learned long ago.

"May, do you have your Terracotta Ribbon in your right pocket?"

Looking back at Dawn, May never expected that someone would find out where she normally kept it.

"No," she stuttered, quickly removing her hand while looking back away from the other girl and focusing on Pikachu in her lap. "What makes you think that?"

Although Pikachu was very familiar with those actions from his time with Ash, he knew that she was telling a complete lie. He could also hear her heart beat quicken as she started to hold him tighter. But she didn't seem to want to talk about it so he didn't say anything. He just let her try and use him to change her focus. Sadly for May, Dawn was also used to these actions. But unlike Pikachu, she wanted to get to the deeper issue.

"Nice try May, but you can't fool me that easily," she said to the other coordinator. "Now come on, at least tell me what's bothering you."

"If I do you have to promise not to tell Ash," May responded after thinking it over. "You too Pikachu. If he found out I don't think he would be able to take it too well."

Wondering what would make May act like that with something that involved Ash, Dawn now felt like she had to find out. Although she was hoping for certain topic to be brought up, with the way the brunette was talking, that might be hoping for a bit too much.

"Alright I promise," Dawn finally told her.

"Pikachu," the small mouse also agreed.

"And I don't think I need to worry too much about you Piplup, but you as well please."

"Piplup."

"Alright," after taking a deep breath, May started. "Truth is…I think I might be losing my edge as a coordinator."

"What? Why do you think that?"

"As you know, my first two Grand Festivals I did reasonably well in. Especially considering that I barely knew what I was doing at first. Even if I didn't win either of them I was proud of what I did, as was Ash. When I started in Johto, I didn't have any major problems. Sure I felt lonely not having Ash, Brock, or Max with me, but I expected that. And I think it was because of that I simply got off to a bad start. I still won my first three contests without too many problems, but they just didn't feel up to par with some of my older routines. Then with my visit to Sinnoh and the Wallace Cup I finally felt like I was back to normal and I put on some of my best performances yet. But it only lasted for one contest after I got back to Johto. By the time I entered to win my fifth and final ribbon, I started to really feel sluggish with my routines again. Except this time around I made several amateurish mistakes, and, of course, the judges noticed. Because of this I lost my first contest in Johto, even if it was just barely. Considering it was my first real loss I tried not to think too much into it like Ash always told me, but then I started to lose time and time again. So for several months I found myself racing from city to city trying to apply for every contest I could get in. Unfortunately it lasted all the way up until I came to my last chance to get a ribbon to enter the Grand Festival. To my relief I finally won, even if it was just by the skin of my teeth. By that time I knew I had a problem, so I spent every moment I could spare in the few weeks I had before the Johto Grand Festival trying to get my old self back. After those weeks passed I knew I was better than I was when I finished up my ribbons, but I still didn't feel the confidence I felt even going into my first Grand Festival. When I got there I participated in a few preliminary matches that were meant as nothing more than practice rounds for contestants. Each one of them went fine, it was nothing impressive by any means yet I got through, even if I made a few mistakes. But most of the coordinators I went up against weren't nearly as experienced as I was so it should have been much better. The first official round of the Grand Festival went about the same, nothing impressive but even if I made many mistakes, I passed. It was the second round which brought reality bearing its ugly head back to me. To my luck it was against my long time rival Drew."

"The same one you mentioned last night?"

"Yeah, sadly it's the same person. But that reality hit me hard. The year before, I beat him. It wasn't easy mind you, but I was able to do it. This year he beat me, but it wasn't just a win. He crushed me, and it looked as though he barely even tried. So after my two rather successful festivals, my third one I'm out by the second round and didn't even get anywhere near the primary placements or even the top 50. Drew proved to me exactly what I was worrying about for months, that I lost something from myself between the time I left Kanto and the start to the Johto Grand Festival."

"And one of things you lost was confidence, wasn't it?" Dawn asked after May finished up her story.

"I can't disagree with you on that," May told her while hugging Pikachu a little harder. "But I think I didn't start losing my confidence until after I started to have more and more trouble by the middle of my run through Johto."

"I'm sorry to hear that May, so I assume that this is the reason that whenever the Grand Festival is brought up you change the subject almost immediately?"

"Yes, it is. Was it really that noticeable?"

"For me it was, but Ash for example would probably not have ever noticed it as long as you brought up the right topic to replace it."

"You're right about that one," May said with a small laugh, a bit of contrast compared to the down mood she was in from when she started telling everything.

"Though if you don't mind May, I want to ask one question. Why don't you want Ash to know about this?"

"Because knowing him, he might blame himself for all of it," the brunette told her friend. "He always took my wins and losses like they were his own. He was always the first to cheer for me at a contest and the first to not only console me in a loss but show me how I could fix it. He looked so proud of me whenever I won, almost as if yelling out to the whole world 'this is my best friend May, she may not look like it yet but she's the greatest coordinator out there'. I just don't want to ruin that image of me that he has."

"Now May, you of all people should know that would never be how Ash reacts."

"Maybe, but I still don't want you to tell him. He has more than enough on his mind right now that he doesn't need to worry about me on top of it all."

"_Ironic you mention that May,"_ Dawn thought. _"Because I'd be willing to bet that at the moment you're the focus of his mind more than the Elite Four. And even though I've promised not to tell Ash about this I have a better idea of how May feels about him."_

"Daijoubu," the blunette said. "I made my promise and I won't say a word about the Grand Festival."

"_But I know a few ways to say what I need to without telling him,"_ she added silently.

"Thanks Dawn. And you too Pikachu, not a word."

"Pika," he nodded while cuddling into her arms a bit more.

"Thanks, I want Ash to enjoy his time off and relax. I'm just here to get my mind off of my own problems and figure out what to do next."

"Well well well, what have we here?"

Looking up, the two girls and their Pokémon saw an aging man in a long white lab coat walking towards them from the direction of the lab.

"I saw several new Pokémon gathered around Ash's Pokémon so I expected to find him, but it was a surprise to see you two here."

"Sorry for the intrusion Professor Oak," May spoke up first. "Ash is actually inside trying to see if you have any information about Sinnoh's Elite Four so he can start to choose which Pokémon to prepare."

"It's alright May," the kind professor told her. "I just hope he doesn't get overzealous and gets the wrong information. Good thing he wouldn't understand much of it anyways," he added with a chuckle. "But it seems that you have been busy yourself. Can I assume that the Venusaur next to Ash's Bulbasaur is yours?

"Yep, that's the same one."

"Impressive, she's evolved very quickly in such short time. You two must have trained very hard."

"Not as hard as you might think," the coordinator said while looking away slightly in embarrassment. "So I haven't seen Gary around, is he off doing something else? I was hoping to at least say hi."

"Actually he's off in Hoenn right now I believe. I've asked him to pick up some research notes for me and get a few observations done while he was there. He only left a couple days ago so he won't be back for a while."

During the whole conversation, Dawn was staring in wonder at the professor. It was only then she was able to find her tongue again.

"Oh wow, it's really you. Professor Oak in person!"

Looking over at the other person present, it took him a few moments to remember her.

"You're Dawn if I remember correctly, right?" He asked. "The girl who traveled with Ash in Sinnoh?"

"Yes, and I love your Pokémon poetry!"

"Pokémon poetry?" May had absolutely no clue as to what Dawn was talking about. "I thought that you just studied Pokémon and human relationships."

"Well yes, but I do poetry as a hobby and some of the ones that I release have gotten quite famous."

"Famous to the point where he has his own show devoted to it back home," Dawn declared.

Sighing, May leaned further back against the tree she was next to and let Dawn continue to spew out questions one right after another.

"Good thing today is a great day for lazing it away," she told Pikachu. "Because I get the feeling that between Dawn and Ash, we're probably going to be doing a lot of that today."

"Pikachu," he agreed while curling up into her stomach.

* * *

><p>"Okay I think I'm starting to get the hang of using this thing."<p>

Ash was busy typing away at a computer he found in Professor Oak's lab. After not finding any books on the topic he was looking for in the professor's library, he decided to try the next best thing, the internet. Too bad he didn't know how to really use it. But he at least chose a computer that didn't look like it was attached to an expensive piece of equipment. He had lost track of how much time he had been looking, but he did find a few single videos here and there, about thirty pages back.

"I finally found one with three video clips of some of their previous battles but that's not enough. I think I'm getting better at this, but I still need a list of some of their more commonly used Pokémon and not just these random videos."

Curled up on his lap, Eevee was virtually asleep as the trainer used the computer. She watched him try to work the machine for long enough and eventually got tired of it. Besides, his soothing presence was more than enough for her.

"Well at least I'm getting closer to this answer," he said to the quiet Pokémon while lightly rubbing her back. Using his free hand he brought out the item that he always kept on him. "This on the other hand, is another story entirely."

Looking at his half of the Terracotta Ribbon, Ash's mind once again shifted to the questions that Dawn asked him two nights before. It seemed like ever since that moment every free second he had in his head went back to those questions. It was only when he was able to put his full attention on something else that he was able to forget them. But up to this point most of his time was trying to compare May to the other girls he had met over the years and little of it was put toward their ribbon.

"My good luck charm. That's how I've always looked at it, but why? It's not like I turned Misty's lure into a charm, or even Brock's silverware set. So why this?"

Staring right at the metal center with its pink and white bow, Ash could only let his mind drift into whatever came up first in an effort to figure it out.

"I feel…a sense of comfort coming from looking at it," he finally said after a few minutes, the start of a smile making its way to his face. "I can also feel somewhat of a calming affect while holding it. It's been so long since I made it into my charm I guess I forgot the exact reason I chose it as such in the first place. After a while, whenever I needed that feeling of good luck and reassurance I almost instinctively went to hold it."

Turning the object around in his hand, more thoughts started to come to his head along with those feelings.

"Even if I only got it in the last few moments that we were together, this ribbon still reminds me of my time with her and everything that happened while we were together. And I think part of it is as simple as I originally thought. It's not that it's a gift from her, it's because I only have half of the full ribbon while she holds the other half. So we still have a mutual connection between us beyond only our memories."

Continuing to pet the content ball of fur in his lap, Ash felt glad that he was able to come up with at least some answers to that question. But even without thinking of how Dawn would critique his response, he felt as though something was still missing.

"But why does it make me feel so calm and comforted? It can't just be from the random memories that it brings up." Putting the item back into his pocket to test his idea, Ash withdrew his hand and now looked at his empty palm. "Because without it, I can recall all of those memories and yet I don't feel that reassuring calming sensation I felt while looking at it." Sighing deeply, the trainer turned his gaze up towards the darkened ceiling. "Why does this have to be so hard to understand?"

"So, find anything interesting?"

Jumping slightly, Ash turned around to find Dawn looking over his shoulder carrying the ever-present Piplup along with her.

"Dang, don't scare me like that Dawn," he quickly said.

"Sorry Ash. So did you find anything?"

"You mean about the Elite Four? I found a few videos but that's it," Ash told her, looking back at the screen. "I can't seem to find a list of their Pokémon."

"Really? You'd think that would be pretty easy. Here, move aside for a moment."

Lightly pushing Ash to one side, which wasn't too hard because of the wheeled office chair he was in, Dawn went at the keyboard. After only a minute or two, accompanied by a flurry of key strokes, she found what she was looking for. The whole time Ash could barely even see what she was doing, let alone completely comprehend it.

"There we go. See, that wasn't too hard."

Ash could barely believe his eyes.

"How did you do that? I've been looking through this for some time now and you find it in seconds."

"It's called a search engine Ash," she told him rather flatly. "You should really learn more about computers before you start using them. Hell, you should learn about them period with as much as you apparently know. You're sixteen years old, and in this day and age it's almost embarrassing for me that you know as little as you do."

"Well sorry for having my priorities elsewhere," Ash shot back at the blunette.

"Still, you've been in here for hours and all you found were a few videos? To be honest I'm surprised you made it that far without even knowing about how to find them. But I just came in to tell you that May and I are heading back to your house for dinner."

"Is it already that time?" He asked. Looking down at the clock on the computer screen he surprised himself at what it read, 5:34. He remembered he started looking for the information at about 10 am, so he was at it for almost seven and a half hours. "Guess that means today was virtually wasted. I wonder why I didn't see Professor Oak though."

"He said he came in here at one point and you were so engrossed with what you were doing he didn't want to bother you," Dawn told him while stepping away from the computer. "He did look very relieved that you used one of the less important computers though."

"Yeah I was hoping I guessed correctly," he told the blunette with a small laugh.

"So to say it again, we're heading back if you want to join us soon. But before you come home I want you to head to that store down the road and grab a few things, what was it called again, ah yes, the Rapidash Convenience Store. May and I want to watch a movie or two tonight, so go and pick up a few snacks and drinks." Walking back towards the front door of the lab, Dawn stopped just before exiting the room they were in. "Oh yeah, hey Ash I've been noticing that May has been acting a little down on and off today and last night. Do you know anything about it?"

Ash was completely surprised at what she said.

"No, I didn't know anything about it. Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure at least, but then again it could just be my imagination. See ya later Ash," she waved while exiting the room. And although Ash couldn't see it, she had on her same mischievous smile that he always hated, muttering something about another two strings now in place to her Pokémon.

"Weird, I didn't know anything about it. Did you Eevee?"

Looking down at the Pokémon in his lap, he could see her steady breathing and along with being unresponsive to his voice he assumed she must have been asleep.

"_I'll just ask her later then,"_ he reasoned while looking back at the computer.

Scanning over the web page that Dawn had found, Ash was almost overjoyed with what it contained. Not only did it give their favorite Pokémon to use but it also gave an example video for each.

"Alright," he said quietly. "Now we're finally getting somewhere."

Looking over the screen again something caught his eye near the top of the page. There were two boxes up there; the one that was lit up said 'Sinnoh Elite Four and their Pokémon', which he assumed was the page he was on. But it was the other one that really caught his attention, while it was greyed out slightly it read 'Johto Grand Festival Results: Competition Rankings and Final Scores'.

"Hmm, has that always been there? Because I don't remember seeing that there before." Shrugging it off, it actually got the gears in his head turning again. "That reminds me, I was never able to ask May how well she did this year. Now I wonder how I get to it."

Taking the most obvious course of action, he tried clicking on the box. Instantly the entire page switched to something completely different. Changing from the neatly bulleted information of trainers and Pokémon, it now took the shape of the standard tournament ranking tree with the names of over a hundred coordinators. Below it were grids of information about each round, again listing the trainer along with their ending points, Pokémon used, and the time remaining of each battle.

It took a while for Ash to find what he was looking for, but as soon as he did his eyes opened wide. He double, even triple checked that he saw. In the end though, everything seemed consistent. And his once happy mood quickly fell at the realization of this.

"Oh May…"

* * *

><p>Daijoubu: Again much like my older stories, I prefer to use the original phrase that Dawn (Hikari) uses in the Japanese anime. The English adaptation translates it as "No need to worry" I think. It's not the exact translation but I won't get into that. The reason that I used it is because I don't like the adaptation's version, daijoubu sounds far more natural to me. Sorry to bore those of you who already knew most of this but I know that not everyone that reads it would.<p>

But either way that's another chapter down and the plot continues to thicken. Hope everyone enjoyed it; chapter nine will be up as usual.


	9. Chapter 9

I find it kinda funny that so many people thought that the last chapter ended in a cliffhanger. Looking back on it I probably have to agree with them, but I didn't entirely intend for it to be as such. Although I have to say that I'm slightly disappointed that nobody mentioned the second string that Dawn mentioned. While I didn't expect anyone to actually guess the true idea it represented, with the fact that I only really gave one thing that the blunette manipulated I was hoping to get people wondering about it. No matter, it'll be revealed in this chapter anyways. Along with several other plot points actually. Well thanks as always to those who reviewed, welcome to chapter nine.

* * *

><p>"Where's Ash? I thought that you told him we were heading back to eat?" May asked as she finished helping putting plates and silverware on the table.<p>

"I did, but I also asked him to go and grab a few things from a convenience store for tonight," Dawn replied, after rinsing off some of the used pans.

"You mean the movies? Didn't you already get those hours ago?"

"I forgot a few things," the blunette tried to defend herself.

Eyeing the apprehensive girl, May could only let her imagination wonder why. Sure, the answer seemed reasonable enough, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it was more than simply forgetfulness.

Before she could say anything though, the sound of the front door opening and closing indicated that the last person they were waiting on was probably back.

"Sorry that took so long," Ash apologized as he walked in with several plastic bags full of drinks and junk food in his hands. "I couldn't remember what you guys liked, so with Eevee's help I just picked out ones that I thought were at least close."

"Vee!"

"Ash why did you buy that much?" May nearly scolded him. "Dawn already bought most of what we'll need; you were only supposed to buy the few things she forgot."

Looking completely confused, Ash started to put the things away.

"She didn't tell me that one. She just asked me to go get snacks and drinks."

May gave an accusing glare towards the blunette, obviously for more than just the food. Dawn, catching her eyes, just shrugged her shoulders.

"Did I do something wrong?" The trainer asked after everything was put away.

"No, you're fine," May sighed. "It's something else."

Looking over at Eevee, Ash could see she didn't understand the situation any better than he was.

"Alright kids, sit down it's time to eat," Delia told them all as she put the last of the food on the table.

Sitting down for another meal, it wasn't really comparable to the one they had the night before. It was spaghetti and meatballs with fruit and breadsticks, but the quantity of it wasn't lacking. Although Ash and May both took larger than normal portions, Eevee and Pikachu were more than happy to eat their fill from their current human's plates. As for the Electric-Type, while he still wasn't happy with it, Pikachu just tried to keep from looking at Eevee. He knew that she still was not willing to make eye contact with him, and every time they did, it didn't even matter if she was laughing at the time, she would suddenly get quiet and try and hide herself behind Pikapi. Pikachu knew that she would usually have forgiven him long ago, so why she was still acting this way was completely alien to him. He just thought that she was still slightly angry at him, and so decided that at least for now it would just be best not to cause more trouble than was needed. He would make his apology again when the time was right.

To Eevee on the other hand, anger had nothing to do with it. By the end of last night she understood that he truly had nothing to do with Dawn's Pokémon egg. It's just that ever since that night, besides the shyness and discomfort that she originally felt, every time she looked into his eyes the young Pokémon felt a weird sensation build up inside her. This had never happened to her before, and it wasn't just with Pikachu that she had never felt this before either. It was almost like a feeling of anxiety, she could feel her heart start to race and she began to feel warm. The feeling itself wasn't uncomfortable, in fact at times she could even call it enjoyable, but she just didn't know enough about what was happening and she always just found herself trying to avoid the new feeling by hiding from his eyes. The only thing she did know in the end was that this all started when she laid eyes that egg, and the mentioning of Pikachu being a father.

Besides that, the meal went smoothly and it wasn't long before everything was cleaned up and the travelers were sitting around the TV figuring out what the first movie they would be watching was. It took a while for them to finally decide on a movie, and much to Ash's dismay the end result was a romance themed one and not the horror one he suggested. He and Pikachu got outvoted, four to two; with each Pokémon siding with their trainer. Almost as if to delay the inevitable, before they could start the movie Ash reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a folded up piece of paper.

"Hey guys, before we start, I think I may have found something to start off our break." Unfolding the paper he first handed it to May who was sitting on the couch next to him. "It looks like it should be a good amount of fun for you two and it can help me get up to speed with some of my older Pokémon in preparation for when I go up against either Paul or the Elite Four and Cynthia."

Taking the paper, May could only wonder what he was thinking. Knowing Ash she was expecting something that would actually be worth checking out. But as soon as she saw the title, her mood fell quickly. Across the top in large letters read: Auburn Town's Fourth Annual Pokémon Contest.

"Auburn Town is a place just about couple hours east of Viridian, and they weren't really known for much before I left to start traveling," Ash explained. "Apparently that's changed. According to the flyer they started this a few years back as an attraction for the coordinators coming back from the Kanto and Johto Grand Festivals to visit the town. Even if Auburn is not that much bigger than Pallet, this has become a pretty big event and it brings in large amounts of people every year. There are even cash prizes for those that place high enough. So I thought that you two could enter to show off a bit and have some fun, while I can do it to help my keep my skills sharp. What do you guys think?"

"Ash, where did you find this?" May asked in as normal a voice as she could muster.

"It was on a few of the news boards around town. I grabbed one while I was out getting the snacks for later tonight."

The brunette was doing everything she could do to try and keep herself from trembling.

"_Why? Of all the things he could have found, why did it have to be a contest?"_ She thought. _"Will I actually be able to do well this time? If not, it would only reveal to him that in the last year I failed to come anywhere close to his expectations for me. It's hurting me knowing that I couldn't make the expectations I set for myself, but it just feels worse when I look at him and all I see is his confidence he has in me. Confidence that only seems wasted."_

"I think it would be fun," Dawn said as she interrupted May's thoughts. "Come on May, it could help take your mind off of things and just have fun for a few days."

Staring at the other coordinator, May could only wonder what she was thinking. Dawn knew about her failure as a coordinator this year, and yet she was now trying to pressure her into participating. But as she looked back at the paper, May realized that if she said no Ash would definitely find out. At least in going she could possibly still keep it hidden, and if things still go wrong she could just laugh off a loss saying she got too complacent.

Gulping once, the brunette looked back at her best friend, putting on what she hoped was a convincing fake smile.

"Sure Ash, I'd love to go."

"Great! We only have a couple days before it starts so to make it in time we will have to leave tomorrow morning. We should be able to make Viridian by nightfall and then make it in time for the registration the next day."

Seeing how genuinely excited Ash was at her accepting to go, May couldn't continue feeling depressed about what had happened. There was something about him that always was able to cheer her up, no matter what happened, and she always had felt drawn to that.

"Alright," she finally said. "Then we'll go tomorrow, all three of us."

"No complaints here."

Dropping back into the couch, Ash extended the built-in foot rest and relaxed back into the comfortable piece of furniture with Eevee resituating herself back onto his stomach.

"Okay so now back to the movie, _Dawn of the Dead_ if I remember correctly."

"Nice try Ash," Dawn told him with a small laugh. "But remember we decided on _The Red Shoe_. Majority rules."

Slinking further in the seat, Ash cursed under his breath that it didn't work.

"In that case, wake me when it's over," he said, closing his eyes and pulling his hat over his head.

* * *

><p>After two movies and an excess of snacks and drinks, the three kids started to prepare for bed; Ash still stuck on the couch, Dawn moving to the now vacant guest room, and May staying in Ash's room.<p>

Dawn was setting her things up after moving them out of Ash's room and Piplup was watching from the bed. While grabbing a few things to prepare for her nightly shower, the blunette was humming to herself, obviously quite content with something. Just as the coordinator grabbed her various cleaning products and her night clothes, she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in."

Opening the door and walking in, May did not look very happy.

"Did you tell him?" She demanded right as the door closed behind her.

"Tell him what? You mean what we talked about this morning?"

'Yes!"

"I swear I didn't say a single word about it," Dawn told her sincerely. "I'm not going to break my promise that quickly and easily."

Eyeing the girl over, May couldn't see any sensible reason as to not believe Dawn. Though it just seemed like too much of a coincidence for it to happen just like it did, and May wasn't ready to completely trust everything she says right away.

"What I do admit," the blunette continued. "Is that I saw those flyers as well while I was walking, but I didn't take that close of a look at them. I mostly only remember them because of the way they looked."

Groaning slightly, May collapsed down onto the bed.

"I'm sorry Dawn; but it just seems too convenient that the same day I tell you about my problems that Ash comes up with an idea to bring us to a contest where both professionals and amateurs will be competing. So while I tried to not show anything tonight after he suggested it, this has been starting to wear on me already."

"I can see how you could think that, but I only assume he's doing it for you May. While I still don't think he would be able to see through you trying to stay away from the topic of the Johto Grand Festival, he has always been pretty good at catching when people aren't acting like their usual selves. So to cheer you up…"

"He's suggesting to do something that I love," May finished for her. "Yeah, I know. And in one way I'm thankful for what he's doing, but this could be even worse than just telling him everything right here and now."

"Or you can look at it another way, use this as a chance to overcome your problems and get your skills back in line."

"At this point it would have to be a miracle for that to happen."

"You were doing perfectly well at one point and then just fell into a rut," Dawn tried to reason with her friend. "You just need to find what you lost."

"And what exactly did I actually lose?" May countered. "I was doing just fine until about half-way through Johto."

"Actually if I remember correctly you said that after you started out on your own you had a few problems here and there, you got back to normal by the time you visited us in Sinnoh, and then started to fall again after that, right?"

"More-or-less."

"So then maybe it was because of being away from everyone. And I may be stretching this a little, but maybe it might even simply be Ash in particular."

"Huh?"

Looking back at Dawn, May knew that being away from them probably didn't help but she didn't think that it would be enough to make her lose that much. Even the thought that it could be just Ash that was causing her problems wasn't something she liked to think about; it almost made it sound like it was his fault she was losing. Putting her hand into her blouse pocket, she lightly grabbed onto the ribbon she kept in there. She always found comfort by that simple action.

"Well, think about it. You were doing perfectly fine while traveling with them, then you started to falter after leaving them and going to Johto. After you go visit Sinnoh, and see Ash and Brock in the process, you are back to normal and you even said that it was some of the best performances you've ever done. Eventually that started to fall off as well and I don't think I need to go any further."

"I can't deny that they go together when you put it like that," May admitted after thinking it over. "But, to be perfectly honest, I still absolutely hate the idea of blaming my problems on Ash. He's done so much for me it almost feels like I'm backstabbing him by doing that."

"_So we both feel like we owe him for how he's helped us,"_ Dawn thought as May was thinking everything over. _"Too bad I can't tell you how I'm paying him back."_

"I think you're taking what I said the wrong way May. I'm not saying it's because of Ash that you're having problems, it's because he wasn't there. You've said several times that he thinks highly of your skills and was always there to not only help you but to reassure you and cheer for you. Maybe it was simply not having your biggest supporter there and it threw you off."

"I still don't know."

"There's only one way to find out. Enter the tournament. This time you have Ash there with you. If he's the reason that you couldn't do well, then there's a good chance that you'll be able to do well. If not, then you've just narrowed down what could be the problem."

Looking right back at the blunette, May once again found herself wondering exactly what was going on. She still didn't completely trust the 'coincidence' of Ash coming up with the tournament the same day she told Dawn everything. But she still couldn't disagree with what Dawn was saying about her loss in confidence coinciding with being away from her friends. And if she was to believe what the other coordinator was saying, it was Ash in particular.

"Alright, I'll go along with this," May said with a sigh. "I want to know what's wrong with me and I'll take any help I can get. All I can hope for is that I don't hurt Ash while trying to figure this out."

"I don't think you should worry too much about that one," Dawn reassured her. "Knowing Ash he would never be angry at you for that, he would just want to help you out in the end. And sorry to cut this short but I still need to take my shower."

"Okay." Getting up, May walked over to the door. "See you tomorrow then."

"Goodnight May."

Waiting for the brunette to leave, Dawn put on a big smile as she fell back onto the bed.

"I should have known that it would be harder to get everything past May," she said to Piplup. "She still doesn't believe me that I didn't tell Ash, but even if what I told her was true in one sense, it doesn't matter as much now. The best part is that she should now be thinking about how Ash affects her coordinating. Not completely ideal but it works for the time being. On the bright side, if what I thought is actually true then it'll only help in the end, if not, then I didn't really lose anything at least."

Getting up and grabbing the shower products she had gathered before her talk with May, Dawn prepared to take her nightly shower once again.

"And with that, yet another string has formed on the puppet and is being pulled. My little show is going exactly as planned, if not a little slow on one side. Round one is now complete, round two might be a little harder and a lot more complex."

* * *

><p>"I just have no idea what is going on inside of that girl's head."<p>

Walking back into Ash's room, May closed the door behind her and went straight to the bed were Eevee was relaxing next to the pillow. In fact it looked as though it was the exact same spot that she had used the night before.

"Vee?"

"It's obvious that she somehow set up getting us to that contest, even if Ash doesn't realize it himself. The only thing I can't completely figure out is why. I would like to think that it was simply to help get me back on my feet as a fellow coordinator but I can't shake the feeling that it's more than that."

Sighing and falling back onto the comfortable bed, May just stared up at the ceiling. Ash had told her on several occasions that Dawn had mischievous streaks in which he was actually scared about what was going through her mind, and May could see no reason to believe that this wasn't one of those streaks. Yet even if she didn't completely trust what the blunette was planning, she brought up an interesting point.

Pulling her ribbon out of her pocket, May held it up in front of herself, admiring the light bouncing off the flawless gold colored surface. Even if it was only half of a ribbon it was worth more to her than any other.

"Is it really because of Ash that I can't win?"

"Eevee?"

"It was something Dawn said. She said that the reason we're having problems might be because Ash wasn't with us. I missed Ash, I can't deny that. Heck, I missed having him with us more than Brock or even Max. There was just something about him that could always bring a smile to my face, and when I heard his voice while standing in front of all those people I felt invincible. With just a few words he could make me go from depressed to happy again in moments. It just doesn't make any sense does it?" May finished up with a half hearted laugh.

"Vui."

Cocking her head slightly, Eevee just sat there listening in to her trainer ramble on. It made some sense to her, but probably no more sense than what it was making for May.

"It's just so weird. I know that others cheered for me during all of those battles. I know that I had the support of my whole family, friends, and even the fans that I made along the way. Yet when I think about it, it was his approval and praise that I enjoyed hearing the most. Would the loss of that really be enough to make me start to lose focus in the long run? Sure, he was one of the first people I met when I set out on that day nearly four years ago; he became not only my teacher but my best friend as well. But for some reason, that still doesn't seem like enough to make everything turn out as it did. Does that mean that there's something else there as well? Or is it just because I became so dependent on his support? Or is it something else entirely and Ash has nothing to do with it? No matter what it is, in the end it's almost as if I've lost a part of myself this past year."

Continuing to stare at the Terracotta Ribbon, May could feel a smile start to form on her face as something came to her mind.

"Almost like my ribbon. But unlike me, my ribbon has always been only half of the whole. And that other half is held by the best friend anyone could ask for. It doesn't matter if he is the reason that I'm in a slump or if he isn't, it would be fun to travel with him again. Even if I can't get my coordinating skills back right away, I don't think that a break from the mainstream would be that bad. I would just start back at the basics and work my way back up with him helping. Now that Dawn and Brock are heading elsewhere, it could be just the two of us again, like it was supposed to be when we started off together. Just the two of us."

For some reason that last thought made her face start to feel warm. Snapping out of it, the coordinator sat back up.

"Now what am I thinking? I'm just letting everything that Dawn has been saying get to my head," she berated herself. "I better get ready for bed; Ash will probably want to leave early tomorrow."

Not understanding what the girl was ranting about, Eevee sat her head back down on her paws as she watched her trainer change clothes and put her old ones into her pack. She knew all too well about May's problems that she has been having in the contest ring and she also knew about how leaving her friends affected May. While she may not have known what was going on in her trainer's mind, what she did know was that ever since they came to Pallet, May's attitude was completely different than it was through most of Johto. She had a good idea as to who was the reason for this change and she was more than happy to see it.

Changing clothes and getting into the bed, the coordinator still had a faint smile on her face as she relaxed into the pillow.

"These next few days are going to be interesting Eevee," May told her, turning onto her side to face the small Pokémon. "While I don't think that everything that happened in Johto was because of Ash, what Dawn told me did make some sense. Although I'm still worried about what might happen if she's wrong, right now I'm thinking more about if she is right. Maybe it means to be a good coordinator from now on I'll have to follow Ash around for the rest of our lives, or at least for my coordinating career. Although to be honest, for some reason I'd be okay with that. I just can't explain it, but I don't feel as though that would be a bad thing being with him like that."

"Eevee vee vee," the little Pokémon said happily.

"It's times like this I wish I knew what you were saying." Giving off a big yawn, May gave a soft scratch to her partner as she curled further up into a ball. "Goodnight Eevee."

As she closed her eyes that same scent she smelled last night came up again, and once again it seemed to relax her enough to allow her to fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>"What is taking them so long? I know girls spend more time getting ready in the morning than guys but this is ridiculous."<p>

Having already eaten breakfast with everyone, Ash was now sitting outside his house with Pikachu, waiting for his two female companions.

"I mean I know that Dawn took a shower last night and maybe even May too, but I was able to take it this morning along with my other duties, and I still beat them both. I'll never understand girls."

"Pika pika Pikapi."

"So you know what I'm talking about then, huh?" Groaning slightly, he pulled out his Pokédex for what seemed like the hundredth time to check the clock. "At least we have until early tomorrow afternoon to get there, and shouldn't have too much problem making it. I just hate having to hurry up just to end up waiting in the end. Hopefully we can get going soon, I think those two chick flicks last night got to my head and I want them out."

With the dream he had last night coming back into his head, Ash could think of no other reason for it being there. It was a slightly cold night where he and another girl were sitting under the night sky. The girl didn't have any real notable features that he could identify but he did feel happy being next to her. Bringing her in for an embrace and afterwards a kiss, he couldn't deny that his body and mind were telling him that it felt amazing, even if for some reason he couldn't feel anything besides the heat from her body. To him now though it was an odd experience having only felt the temperature from her body with none of his other senses really working that well. Even from holding Dawn's hand a couple days ago he knew that he should have at least felt the softness of her skin, let alone seen the color in her eyes, the sound of her voice, the taste of her lips, or even the faint smell of shampoo from her hair.

Trying to clear his mind at least a little, Ash looked up towards the sky and saw that there were just a few high flying clouds that accompanied this beautifully warm day. Hopefully it stayed like this for the next few days so that the tournament would be able to have this nice weather as well.

"Hey Pikachu, do you think that I did the right thing in inviting May to this contest? I know that she can sometimes have a hard time with a loss, and this would be no exception considering that it was a Grand Festival, but she's barely showing it. So I can only wonder if she's happy that she has another chance at proving that she can do well at contests, or if she's mad at me for kinda forcing it on her."

"Pikachu pika chu."

"Yeah I know that she isn't one to get mad at me that easily but I just can't get the thought out of my head. She's never lost that badly in a major tournament before so I don't know how she would react to it."

Before Pikachu could respond the front door finally opened to reveal May, Dawn, Eevee, and Piplup.

"Okay Ash, we're ready," Dawn said as the door closed behind her, being careful to protect her egg incubator in the process.

"About time, what took you so long?" Ash asked as he got up and started walking down towards the street.

"We girls need time to become beautiful," the brunette answered while flicking her hair slightly and a playful smile on her face.

"Whatever, come on lets go. We should reach Viridian before nightfall."

It wasn't long before the group left the town of Pallet behind them and onto the well kept gravel road that connected it with its more populous northern neighbor.

"Hey Ash," May spoke up just as they started to enter the light forest that separated the two cities. "I thought that Viridian wasn't easy to get to in only one day. In your stories of just starting out you barely made it there the next morning, and that was with running most of the second half. How are we supposed to make it there by tonight?"

"That's because the road that we're walking on is rather new," he explained. "It was here when I started but as it entered the forest it turned into nothing more than a dirt trail at best and had to go around every land feature. Pallet Town has always relied on the ocean for travel more than land. This new road though not only gives an easy surface to walk down but it'll take us on top of a steep slope that they cleared slightly to make way for this, and because of that it shortens the trip by a large amount of time."

"So was this the road that Brock used yesterday?"

"Yep, it not only makes it up to Viridian but extends all the way through Viridian Forest and to Pewter City. So while it may not have been the most exciting trip for him, Brock should be getting home sometime around when we make it to Viridian."

"Don't you wish that they had this when you started off Ash?" Dawn asked him. "It would have made things quite a bit easier."

"Maybe, but if they did then a lot of things wouldn't have happened that might have made a big difference in who I am now. I almost definitely wouldn't have met Misty and I could only wonder what would have become of everything that Pikachu and I went through that day if this road was here instead of the simple trail."

Smiling as he noticed Pikachu nodding along with him, Ash continued.

"Both of those would have changed me drastically, especially the latter. I can't even imagine what it would be like if Pikachu and I didn't put aside our differences that day and became friends. We probably would have accomplished that at some point, but how long would it have taken? If it was still before Viridian Forest, then probably the changes wouldn't be too great. If it was after, then the problems would be coming. I caught both Pidgeotto and Butterfree there, so it would have just created a ripple to change who I had on my team completely and maybe even change me."

"Ooh, I think that's the closest Ash has come to philosophy in his life," Dawn teased him. "I think we should start running for the hills."

"Thanks a lot," Ash huffed back at her.

"Oh come on Ash," May giggled along with Eevee. "You have to admit, you aren't the type of person to be saying those things too often."

"Hey, she asked so I just said what I thought. Even if I care about all my Pokémon, the ones that I caught here in Kanto when I was first coming through have a special place among the others."

"I'm not debating that one," the brunette told him with a smile, one that Ash surprised himself by actually calling cute. "You treat your Pokémon like family, and we all know that you care for them above all else."

"Thanks May."

Ash found himself turning slightly away from May as he felt a small blush come to his face after seeing her smile.

"_At least she doesn't seem mad right now,"_ he thought to himself. _"As long as she keeps smiling like that I can call this a success."_

As the group continued on, Ash kept things from getting too quiet by telling stories to May about Sinnoh. Of course Dawn was always jumping in every so often to either correct him or just to add her two cents. The trainer was keeping an eye on May to see if she was getting bored by his ranting, but she seemed genuinely interested in what he was talking about so he proudly continued from story to story.

Eventually the path started to angle upwards as the terrain around them became steeper. Like Ash said earlier, it wasn't hard to tell that this was part of that path they cut into the hill to create it. Even if there was at least a wooden fence on the side that sloped down to protect travelers; it wasn't all that high and it didn't look like a fun way down. While it wasn't as bad as a sheer cliff face, the grade was still very steep. Almost as if to make it worse, the ground was littered with sharp rocks sticking out of the ground and mangled trees that prevented you from seeing more than a few meters down.

"Oh wow! Now this is a great view."

After another hour of trekking across this portion of the road, May walked over to the fence to look out across the forest. There was just enough clearing in the branches to see down into the area below, and for miles upon miles it was nothing but a sea of trees. The only intimidating thing about it was that you could now also see that the slope continued for quite a distance before finally reaching the bottom.

"Careful May," Ash warned. "The fence may be somewhat new but I still wouldn't trust it with that drop right there."

"Don't worry Ash, I won't be too long." Staring out across the forest, May just loved moments like this where you could just forget your problems as you're reminded of how insignificant you are compared to the vast world. "Not too shabby of a way to start off our few days of fun don't you agree Eevee?"

"Eevee!" The Normal-Type agreed.

After a couple minutes of admiring the outlook May was just about to turn around and join up with her friends to start moving again when both Pikachu and Eevee's ears perked up and angled off to the opposite side.

"What's the matter Eevee? You hear something?"

Suddenly the sound of several twigs snapping caused everyone there to turn quickly around just as a desperate looking Rattata burst through the plant growth on the far side. Racing across the road, completely ignoring the humans, the Pokémon ran in between May's feet, and disappeared just as fast down the slope.

Caught off guard by the small Pokémon May nearly lost her balance. Falling into the fence to catch herself, she heard the distinctive snap as it splintered slightly under her weight and that really got the coordinator's adrenaline running. Only by Ash grabbing her hand at the last moment prevented her from possibly tumbling over, or even through, the fence and down the slope.

"Thanks Ash," she gasped, looking back where the Rattata ran off to.

"See, I told you so," he said with a grin.

As everyone's attention was still on the retreating Rattata, a large brown blur shot out of the trees on the side it ran from. Unfurling its wings, the Pidgeotto readjusted itself before diving down through the undergrowth.

Unfortunately for May, as the large bird was re-aiming its dive, one of its wings hit her square across her back, causing her to go flipping right over the fence. Her face showed no real emotion except a hint of confusion as she barely understood what was happening. When it finally did click, it instantly changed to an expression of pure terror.

"Ash!" She called out, trying to extend her hand to him. The same hand that only moments ago saved her from what would have been this same fate.

"May!"

Acting fast, Ash was right behind her. Just as she was going over the fence he was already right behind her as they, along with their surprised Pokémon, went tumbling down the steep embankment.

"Ash! May!" Running up to the fence, Dawn and Piplup looked down to try and find their friends. But besides the displaced brambles and the retreating sound of branches snapping as they continued to fall, she could catch no sight of them.

* * *

><p>Hehe, hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. It was a little longer than I usually like but the ending had to be at a certain place and it still wasn't long enough to split in two. As I said, many different things showed up, some obvious, some a bit more subtle. Let's see how many people can catch. But I should probably just end it. Thanks for reading, and reviews as always are welcome. The next chapter will be up as scheduled.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Well some of what will happen in this chapter will no doubt be predictable, but I know that there will be others that I would be somewhat surprised if too many people did. Either way, thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter. Enjoy number ten.

* * *

><p>"Uuhh, my head," May groaned as she sat up. It took a couple seconds for her to remember what happened. As soon as she did, the brunette was quickly checking over her body. To her complete surprise it wasn't all that bad, she had a few scrapes and some sensitive spots that she assumed would bruise eventually, but considering how the hill looked before she fell she expected far worse.<p>

"It must be our lucky day, huh Eevee?" She sighed in relief. "Eevee?"

Glancing over at her shoulder and not finding her partner there, May started to look around the area that she landed. Although she didn't find the Normal-Type, she did find someone else lying down near her.

"Ash!"

Stumbling slightly as she got up to go over to him, the boy was down and unresponsive a few feet away from her.

"Come on Ash wake up, please wake up," she pleaded, while gently shaking him. Without even taking that close of a look she could see that he was in far worse shape than she was, his clothes were ripped in multiple areas and many were already starting to stain dark red with blood, the largest spot seemed to be on his left calf.

After what seemed like hours, Ash finally started to open his eyes. His vision was still blurry as he looked up at a beautiful brown haired human-like shape looming over him.

"An angel huh? Am I dead?"

With tears in her eye, May pulled her friend into a hug.

"No, you're not dead," she told him. "Though it was one of your best shots yet."

"May?"

"Yep," the brunette said to him with a smile, but she couldn't hide the blush that was forming on her face after his earlier slip of tongue. "But I'll go by angel too, for now at least."

Chuckling slightly at her comment, he felt a stinging pain coming from almost every place on his body.

"Aw man, I feel like I just went through a blender," he admitted while sitting up. Taking a look up the hill he could see a small opening in the branches right next to him, and along the bottom of the opening he could see some of the countless rocks jutting up from the ground. "That would explain why." Finally regaining his senses and remembering everything that happened, Ash hastily looked back at May. "You're not hurt, are you May?

"I have a few scrapes and bruises but nothing major."

"Oh thank the gods," he sighed with a large smile.

Before she could respond, May heard her Pokétch start to ring. Reaching into her pack, the small screen read the name 'Dawn' as it continued to chime.

"Hey Dawn," the coordinator said into the device after she opened it. "No don't worry, we're both fine, but Ash is…"

"Doing just fine as well," Ash finished up for her by snatching away the Pokétch, much to May's surprise and annoyance.

"Ash?" Dawn's voice asked. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yep, we all just got some minor cuts and bruises, nothing to worry about. We got really lucky after a fall like that. Although it did help that we were able to roll down the hill and not just a straight drop."

"No kidding, so how am I supposed to get down there to join back up with you guys?"

"Besides coming down the way we came, you would need to go all the way around and come back in," Ash told her. "In the end it would be a complete waste of time."

"So I assume you have a different idea then?"

"We'll just have to split up and join back together at Auburn Town. So listen carefully Dawn. What you're going to have to do is continue along that road and by the end of the day you should be at Viridian City. Tomorrow if you go to the east end of the city there should be a sign showing you the road you need to take to Auburn Town. The road is one way so as long as you stay on that you shouldn't have any problem getting there. Just remember that registration ends at one in the afternoon, so get there in time."

"So what are you going to do? If it takes longer to go around will you be able to make it in time?"

"Actually the route we'll be taking is shorter than the one you will take. We can cut through the forest and can make it without a problem. We just won't be able to sleep inside, that's all."

"Alright then, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Good luck."

"Yep, thanks Dawn. You too."

* * *

><p>Hanging up the phone, Dawn took another look down the slope that her friends just fell down.<p>

"At least they're okay," she said to Piplup, with a relieved look on her face. "According to Ash they both just got a few small cuts here and there. So we'll meet up with them tomorrow in Auburn Town."

Starting to walk back down the road in the direction of Viridian City, it took a few minutes before she thought of something.

"Wait a minute; they're going to be spending the night alone out in the middle of a forest." Thinking about it for a moment, Dawn facepalmed once it came to her. "Damn, why didn't I think of that? And here I thought I had everything already completely planned out for tonight. Oh well, I don't foresee this as being a bad thing. In fact there's a good chance that it will work out in our favor."

Smiling to herself, the blunette could only think of what was going to come.

"Guess that means I'll need to step up my game a little bit if fate wants to outdo me. All I have to say to that though is challenge accepted."

* * *

><p>"Ash, why did you say that?" May demanded from him after he gave her back her Pokétch. "Even from here I can see that you have more than just 'some minor cuts and bruises'."<p>

"Because, the main thing is that you weren't majorly hurt," he told her with a smile.

It didn't take May long to figure out why he was so calm with all that happened to him and the reason for the difference in their injuries.

"Ash, did you protect me on the way down?"

"So you're just figuring it out, huh?" He asked with a laugh, though it didn't last too long as some of his cuts started to sting. "As soon as you started to fall I jumped right back in after you and I was lucky enough to grab on and pull you in as we rolled down the hill. Or actually we slid down a large majority of it, but rolling sounds better, and a little less painful. It wasn't all that fun but I barely feel them anyways."

"This isn't a laughing matter," she harshly told him. "If you hadn't of done that you probably wouldn't have had nearly as many cuts as you do, and the ones that you did get wouldn't be as bad as they are."

"But the important thing is that you're okay."

"You idiot, that's not the point!"

As she yelled at him, May's hand came up as if to slap Ash across the face. In reflex the trainer braced himself for the impact, but after it never came he slowly opened his eyes to see her hand just hovering there, still ready to come down, but tears were already falling from her eyes.

"I know that you're just being yourself," she said quietly. "But you just don't know what it's like to watch your best friend risk his life over and over again, and every time you find yourself wondering if you'll ever see him come back alive. Or even worse, when you know that you weren't even able to say goodbye to him when he may have just given his life to save yours from drowning. You still don't understand what's truly important. When you get hurt, even if it's to help someone else, others hurt inside. You need to treasure yourself more."

"Sorry May." While he really was sorry, the comment about drowning hit Ash extra hard as he knew exactly what she meant. As she said that, the dream from the night on the boat came back full force and that familiar pain was once again rising from his lungs. He suddenly felt the need to take several deep breaths, almost as if the air wasn't going to be there if he didn't.

Finally bringing her hand down to wipe away her tears, May went right into her pack to pull out a first aid kit.

"Here, we need to clean you up."

Pulling at his shirt and sweatshirt, Ash hissed slightly as he felt the stinging pain of the ripped fabric tearing at the scabs that were already starting to form.

Although seeing Ash shirtless like this was getting May's heart beating faster than normal, she knew that she had other things to worry about. All across his upper body cuts and bruises littered his skin. Most were located along his arms and lower back; and with the way the shirt sleeve was torn to shreds it was no surprise his left arm apparently took the worst of it. Yet for some reason his upper back was virtually clear of any abrasion. She could only assume that his backpack must have taken most of that punishment.

Taking out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide along with a clean cloth from the first aid kit, she proceeded to douse the cloth with the liquid and started the work of cleaning up his injuries.

Every time the cloth hit his skin, Ash gritted his teeth as the peroxide bubbled up while killing off any bacteria that could have gotten in his cuts.

"Alright Ash, off with the pants too."

"Wait, May you don't have to…"

"Off!" She demanded, not even the slightest hesitation in her voice. "You brought this upon yourself anyways, and those cuts have to be cleaned. No questions asked. Besides, it's not like I haven't seen you without them before."

"You almost make it sound as though I walk around without them all the time," Ash complained. But even though he was complaining, he grudgingly started to take them off.

"Well you did surprise me the second or third day we were together when you came walking out of your tent like that," she reminisced, a smile finally making its way back to her face. "You were half asleep and came out in nothing but your boxers. Even with me trying to avert my eyes, you sat down, ate breakfast, and went back you're your tent to change as though nothing happened. Needless to say I never expected to see someone outside of my family like that until much later in life."

"It was hotter than I expected in Hoenn," he tried to defend himself. "And it wasn't easy for me to fall asleep in my usual clothes. It took me a little while before I got used to the heat."

With his pants now off and clad in nothing but his boxers, Ash was now the one who was embarrassed beyond belief. Sure he knew that, just like she said, this wasn't the first time he was like this in front of her; but that still didn't help things. Especially with the thoughts of whether or not he liked her as more than a friend were still running through his head.

May on the other hand, while also slightly blushing at the state of undress her friend was in, was more concentrated on the job before her. Looking over the last of the cuts he had there, they looked to be in similar condition as his arms. Many cuts and bruises of various sizes riddled his skin with his left side being worse than the other, but as she thought, it was his left calf that was the worst. The diagonal slash ran half-way up the bottom half of his leg; the only saving grace was that it didn't look exceptionally deep. She was surprised as to how little Ash seemed to react to the injury, considering how painful it looked.

Repeating the process she used on the other half of his body, she saved the biggest one for last.

"Alright Ash, you might want to prepare yourself for this next one," May warned him. "This is going to hurt."

Gritting his teeth, he thought that he was ready for what was coming. Sadly, he was wrong.

Instead of using the cloth to start it off, May poured the peroxide straight from the bottle onto the wound. Accompanying the bubbling and hissing of the liquid across the cut, Ash let out a bloodcurdling scream as every one of the nerves in his leg seemed to light up at once.

"Told ya so."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect it to be that bad," he shot back, still trying to control the pain that he felt.

"Don't worry, it's almost over."

After the peroxide stopped reacting, May wiped away the excess along with any remaining blood and went back into her kit to grab another item.

"I never thought that I would have to use these but my mom insisted that I have them," she said, showing him what she took out. "They're some kind of band-aid that acts like a stitch. Hopefully you won't have to go to the hospital; because I know how much you hate doctors. But promise me if something starts to go wrong that first you tell me and second you go straight to a doctor after that, no questions asked. Alright?"

"Alright."

"Alright, what?"

"I promise," Ash grumbled.

"Good."

After closing up the wound, May began wrapping it with a fresh bandage to keep it clean. Going back to her pack for one last piece, she put the finishing touches of covering the other larger cuts that he had around his body.

"There, all done." Putting everything away, she closed up her pack and looked back at Ash, who was obediently sitting next to her. Almost as if waiting for his next order. "You can put your clothes back on Ash, because now that you're taken care of we need to find Pikachu and Eevee."

After getting clothed again, Ash looked around again for their partners. He knew that they weren't around when she was taking care of his wounds, but he was never too troubled when Pikachu wasn't around as long as Team Rocket wasn't involved. Though he had to admit that even then he could only care so much when going up against those persistent dimwits, it wasn't as though they were ever that successful in the first place.

"I wouldn't be too worried," he told her. "Pikachu can take care of himself, and I'd be willing to bet anything that he's with Eevee right now. They'll make it back to us when they can."

"You're too laid back Ash, both of them have pretty much never been here and as far as I know, neither of us have any other Pokémon with us."

"Now May," he said to the brunette as she started to seem more stressed out as the conversation continued. "Pikachu knows this place at least somewhat, and I promise that we won't leave without them. Just trust me."

"I trust you Ash, which goes without saying, but I'm just getting nervous right now," May confessed. "How are we even supposed to get out of here?"

"Don't worry; I have a map in my backpack."

"Um, Ash? Where is your backpack?"

In all the effort to take care of his first aid issues, Ash completely forgot that he didn't have it on. Looking around he couldn't find any trace of it. Now that he was actually conscious of what was missing, he noticed that his hat was gone too.

"I think I found it," May spoke up as she walked over to the slope. "Or at least part of it."

Reaching up into the brambles near where they came down, she pulled out a single shoulder strap that looked exactly like what was attached to Ash's bag.

"It probably got caught up somewhere while we were falling," May concluded as she looked further up the hill. "But I can't see anything from here."

"In that case it would probably just be easier to buy a new one, and I'd be willing to bet that my hat is somewhere up there as well." Sighing deeply, Ash knew his mom wouldn't be happy about this.

"I hope you didn't have anything important in there."

Suddenly realizing that he could have lost it, Ash quickly dove his hand into his jeans' pocket. Breathing a sigh of relief, he could feel the soft material and hard center of his ribbon. Even with all the tears in his pants, his pockets seemed more-or-less intact. Checking his other pockets he found everything in its place.

Watching him do that, May was reminded of her own items that were in her pockets. Putting her hands into each, the brunette breathed a sigh of relief as she felt her Pokédex, and more importantly her Terracotta Ribbon, were right where they belonged.

"Nope, my wallet and Pokédex are here in my pockets. The only things that I usually kept in my backpack were food, clothes, and miscellaneous essentials. The real important things I kept on me."

"Even though that part is good to hear, what are we to do without a map?" May asked.

"Did you forget where we are? We're essentially in my backyard; I came here to play all the time when I was a kid. While I don't know every twist and turn, I do know the way we should go. And like I told Dawn, we should be able to make it to the tournament with plenty of time to spare." Taking his Pokédex out of his pocket, Ash opened up a compass feature to figure out the direction he needed. "Okay, so we need to head that way," he said while pointing off into a seemingly random direction away from the hill. "If I remember correctly there should be a large lake not too far from here that we can rest at."

"That's good to hear at least."

"So what are we waiting for?"

Attempting for the first time to stand up, Ash quickly crumpled back down as soon as he put pressure on his left leg. Wincing in pain, he tried to tone it down as much as he could as not to alarm May. But of course she noticed it right away.

"Ash, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing May," the trainer told her as he started to get up again. "See everything's fi…"

Dropping back down to the ground due to his leg, he once again tried to wave away the pain.

"But it looks like I might have a little trouble walking," he admitted.

"Let me see."

As May rolled the leg of his jeans up to get a better look, a single thought passed through Ash's head that even surprised himself.

"_She looks so mature while doing this,"_ he thought. _"I don't really ever see her like this, but with that small smile on her face, she looks completely beautiful."_

As the word crossed his mind, Ash's face turned bright red.

"Is there something else wrong?" May asked, looking up from his leg. "Your face just turned red."

"No, no I'm fine," he stuttered. "Really."

"Alright then," turning her gaze back to his leg, May noticed something that she missed while cleaning his wounds. Although it was only slightly, his ankle was swelling up. "I think I might have found your problem. While your cut probably isn't helping, I think you sprained your ankle. You probably caught it on something as we were falling. I don't think it looks that major, but let's just hope that it isn't broken. Come on."

Pulling Ash's arm around her shoulders, May helped him to his feet and they started out in the direction that Ash originally pointed out.

"Sorry May," Ash apologized as he limped along with her help.

"No you don't have to be sorry Ash," she told him. "I still haven't said thank you for protecting me from the fall. I should have taken your advice in the first place and just stepped back towards you and Dawn. Then we wouldn't even be in this mess."

"No need for thanks May, I'm just glad that I could help."

Smiling at his comment, the coordinator pulled him a little closer to steady him.

"Well you just need to remember what we talked about," she reminded him. "We as your friends are thankful for what you do for us without thinking of the consequences, but you need to actually start thinking. Otherwise you'll just hurt others when you think you're protecting them. Not to mention probably dramatically shortening your own life span."

"Alright, Angel."

Turning bright red and feeling her heart skip a beat; May nearly stumbled at his comment.

"What? You said that I could call you that," he said with a laugh.

"Don't make me hurt you," she threatened while avoiding eye contact with him. Her reaction was virtually instinct, but there was a small part of her that enjoyed hearing that come from him.

Distracted by the name, she failed to notice a root sticking out of the ground. Catching her foot, she started to fall with Ash along with her. Before she fell far though, her body stopped as she heard Ash exhale sharply from intense pain. Looking down she noticed that what helped catch her was Ash putting their combined weight down on his left foot.

"Ash!"

Quickly steadying herself, May helped him back onto his other foot.

"What did we just talk about?" She scolded him in a worried tone. "You probably only made it worse by doing that. It's not like I would have been hurt with a fall like that."

"Well, this way there's no doubt you weren't hurt," he explained with a kind face on, though it also showed that even with his left leg back in the air he was still in a large amount of pain.

"What am I going to do with you? You aren't going to listen to me, aren't you? Are you even listening to me now?"

"I'm sorry, what was that again Angel?"

"Stop calling me that!"

* * *

><p>Opening his eyes, Pikachu found his vision still blurry from his trip down the slope. He remembered being on Pikapi's shoulder when his trainer jumped to try and save May. He also remembered falling off of his shoulder as they tumbled down, not long after Eevee found herself ejected from her own trainer's shoulder.<p>

Getting to his feet, he could feel several stinging sensations as what he assumed were small cuts or branches slapping against his skin, but he was mobile. As for the pain, he had felt far worse in many of his battles so compared to those this was nothing.

Looking around he could see no sign of Pikapi or of May and Eevee. Focusing his nose, he tried to find any familiar scents in the air. While there were less smells in the air as compared to the city, he felt sorry for the Pokémon that had senses of smell greater than his when it came to some of those places, he couldn't smell anything significant either.

Stretching his legs, he started just to follow the edge of the hill in the direction he thought Pikapi would have gone, even if he couldn't tell one way from the other with all the rolling he did going down. But before he got too far, the image of Eevee falling off May's shoulder returned to him. Knowing that having been born right into May's arms, she would have limited knowledge of being alone in the wild like that, he decided that he would need to find her first. Pikapi could take care of himself, and with him trying to protect May like he did then those two should be together wherever they are. Besides, the thought that she was out here alone wasn't something that he enjoyed knowing. Sure, she might be with Pikapi and May already, and if so then there was nothing to worry about. But either way, finding her would have to take priority over finding Pikapi.

Deciding to continue in the same direction he was going, Pikachu's eyes, ears, and nose were on high alert. It had been some time since he was alone in the wild like this but he knew the dangers. The Rattata that caused this whole mess was proof enough.

Walking a good distance along, he continued to detect no Pokémon or human. He thought that he almost heard Pikapi's voice cry out at one point, but it was muffled at best and he wasn't even sure what it was when he really thought about it.

Suddenly, his ears caught something. It was faint, but the shifting grass that he heard was unmistakable. Spinning around to face the bushes he heard it from, he just barely dodged the jaws of another Pokémon. Taking a few steps back, he took his normal battle stance, on all fours with head low and tail high in the air, as electricity started to crackle from his cheek pouches.

"Ekans," the snake Pokémon hissed as it slithered back into a coil, eyeing him down.

Pikachu could almost feel a smirk come to his face as he saw the Poison-Type in front of him. He couldn't even remember how long it had been since he last faced off against an Ekans. If he had to take a guess it was probably Team Rocket's all those years ago. But unlike that Ekans this one was clearly a wild Pokémon, and while they both wanted to capture him this one wanted to capture him for a different purpose. Either way, while he was cautious about this new Pokémon to appear before him, he was in no way scared.

As the Ekans reared back up again to strike, Pikachu figured it was time for it to learn why his species was off the menu for many predators.

Striking faster than most human eyes could follow; the well trained eyes of a top class battling Pokémon saw it clear as day. Dodging off to the side again, Pikachu began to rotate his body revealing his tail which was glowing a metallic silver color. As he hit his attacker square across the head he also unleashed his electric potential through the conductor at point blank range allowing for its maximum potency, just as Pikapi had trained him. But even still, he held back. There was no reason to do anything more than scare the aggressor off.

Hit with the dual attack, the Snake Pokémon went flying straight into a tree, the electric current pulsating across its scales. Weakly raising its head to look at Pikachu, it wisely decided to make a hasty retreat to find easier prey.

Relaxing his posture, Pikachu almost felt exhilarated after that mini battle. For the longest time he has been pampered as a trainer's Pokémon, and besides the occasional Team Rocket attack the only defending of himself he had to do was on the battlefield. To actually experience the predator-prey relationship again was a nice change from the ordinary. But then again he also knew that he wouldn't be lucky enough to keep it up forever, while it was kinda fun experiencing it again he wouldn't trade his current lifestyle for it. Besides, that would mean leaving Pikapi, which at this point was almost impossible for him to imagine.

As he was deciding on which way to go next, his ears picked up another sound. Unlike the last one, he knew that this one had legs, and from the soft rapid beats of their pads hitting the ground he knew that it was small and probably on all fours. From the loud snapping of a twig combined with the panting breath and quick succession of feet hitting the ground, he could only guess that whatever it was being chased. Because no sane Pokémon would otherwise make that much noise in a place filled with predators. Deciding this time that it would be best to stay out of the way, Pikachu darted off into one of the nearby dense bushes.

As the sounds grew closer he also began to make out the sound of wing beats. He started to feel sorry for whatever was being chased, Pidgeotto and Spearow were common in this part of the woods, and they were usually rather successful with their hunts. But he also knew that it wasn't his place to step in. Nature could be very cruel at times, whether he liked it or not.

Just as he was about to walk away, a Pokémon burst out of the undergrowth and desperately raced through the clearing that he was just in. As it passed by, his eyes grew wide. It was an Eevee. Although in the quick flash that he saw it, he couldn't tell if it was his Eevee he was looking for or some random wild Eevee. Before he could make out much else a Pidgeotto burst through the trees above him chasing the poor Pokémon.

Deciding that he couldn't risk anything if it really was his Eevee, Pikachu leapt from his hiding spot to follow after the two.

* * *

><p>Like I said, I probably caught a few people by surprise here. Let's just hope that this doesn't become too angsty next chapter, lol. See you again in a couple days.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Not much to say I guess. A bit more focus on the other two who fell this chapter though. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, enjoy chapter 11.

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><p>Running after the two Pokémon, Pikachu put every ounce of energy he had into trying to catch up with at least the Pidgeotto. He knew that if he could do that then he could do plenty enough. But after several quick turns by the Eevee, he lost sight of them.<p>

Slowing down enough to catch his breath, the Electric-Type once again relied on his powerful hearing to try and get anything he could about them. Hearing the same soft thumping of paws off to his right, he rushed off in that direction, hoping that he wasn't too late.

* * *

><p>Eevee had no clue what was going on. One moment she was sitting on May's shoulder admiring the great view they had from the spot high up on the hill and a Rattata surprised them by running under May's feet. The next moment she sees a flash of tan and brown feathers before tumbling down the hill. When she came to, the Normal-Type was all alone, no May, no Ash, and no Pikachu. To say that she was scared at the time was an understatement.<p>

But that didn't even start to compare to what she felt right now. After searching around the woods for any sign of someone she knew, she heard a rustling of feathers coming from above her. Looking towards the sound, she dodged an attack from a large bird Pokémon literally by just a few hairs; in fact she could even see those hairs float away in the wind as the bird's talons retreated back to the sky. She didn't even completely understand what was going on or why she was being attacked, but there was a single command that her brain was yelling at her, run. Just run.

And run she did, going on nothing more than the pure adrenaline pumping through her body the Normal-Type was running faster than even she knew was possible. Side-stepping trees and jumping straight through dense bushes, many of which were filled with either sharp branches or thorns which tried to tear through her fur, she continued to run. Her lungs burned for air and her legs were already feeling too heavy to lift, but she still heard the sound of those wings behind her and she didn't even dare slow down to look back or catch her breath. The only thing she wanted to do at that moment was to run even faster, because no matter how fast she was going it still felt like the sounds of those wing beats were closing in on her. Darting every way she could to try and lose her pursuer, nothing she did could shake it. The attacks she knew would be of limited help too. Her ranged attacks would do little to nothing to the Normal/Flying-Type and she couldn't risk stopping long enough to try and use Dig to get away.

In her desperate state to get away from the other Pokémon, she finally made her first, and possibly last, mistake. While trying to find another direction to attempt to lose the Pidgeotto's powerful eyes, she failed to notice the outcropping of a rock in her path. Hitting her paw as she ran across it, Eevee was unable to recover at the speed she was going and tumbled face first along the ground until she hit a tree, dazing her in the process.

Getting back on all fours, she only was able to see the shadow of her pursuer upon her, and looking up all she saw the outstretched sharp talons, open and ready to make a kill.

Feeling her legs buckle beneath her as she tried to move, Eevee could only watch in pure terror as it got closer. Her life was flashing before her very eyes, her birth right into May's arms, her early contests, Pikachu showing her the basics of how to fight, all the way up to her finally being allowed to stay out of her Pokéball to travel with May through Johto, and beyond. That's all that she found herself thinking; May, Ash, May, Pikachu, Pikachu.

"Eevee!" She called out with her last ounce of desperation.

Just as she called his name, a flash of yellow appeared before her. Before the Evolution Pokémon could even process what was going on, the light became impossibly bright as her eyes strained to focus on anything.

When they finally did, she saw the bird lying on the ground in front of her, most of its feathers blackened and burned while its body randomly twitched from the intense attack that it just took. But most importantly in her mind, it wasn't moving. Probably not dead, but at that point she didn't even care.

Looking over at the other shape that appeared in front of her, she could feel the rush of relief encompass her entire body as she looked at the creature before her. He was panting hard as massive bolts of electricity continued to course off his body, but it was him. The one she called for.

Pikachu was trying to catch his breath as his body attempted to readjust. He also couldn't understand exactly what happened. After finally locating the two he was chasing, he found the Eevee down in front of a tree with Pidgeotto already in a power dive at its prey. While racing up to get into position, like the Ekans he only intended to give the Flying-Type enough of a shock to deter an attack and to scare it away so he could find out if it was the Eevee he was looking for, instead he wound up emptying almost all of his stored electricity into the bird. In less than a second, countless thousands of volts of electricity poured from his body and into his opponent. Combined with the super effectiveness of the typing, the Pidgeotto was out before he even knew what hit him.

The only thing Pikachu knew was when he heard her call out his name like that, something inside of him just snapped. Once he finally got in between the two Pokémon, all thoughts of holding back dissipated as he could only think of protecting her. Because even though he still couldn't confirm with his eyes that she was the one he knew, his instinct just told him that it was.

Almost not believing her own eyes, Eevee could only stare at Pikachu while he caught his breath. As the lightning started to die down, she couldn't contain it anymore. With tears starting to flow, she immediately tackled him right down to the ground.

"Eevee! Eevee!"

Rubbing her cheek up against his, she could honestly say she had never been happier to see him in her life. The fact that she was standing on top of her savior wasn't even on her mind. It was at that point where she felt something give way inside of her. Suddenly everything from when she started to run seemed to catch up to her, the anxiety and exhaustion that built up within her hit her small body all at once. Her eyes rolling back into her head, Eevee collapsed on top on Pikachu, out cold and fast asleep.

Still trying to understand exactly what all happened when he launched his attack, Pikachu suddenly found the sleeping Eevee atop him with a few tears still falling down her face. Looking up at the Normal-Type, Pikachu couldn't help but put on a soft smile as he watched her sleep soundly on top of him. But with her being virtually the same size as him, the position they were in quickly became uncomfortable. So trying to be as careful as possible, he rolled her off of his body and down next to the tree. Noticing that she didn't wake up from the movement, he took one more look around the area before sitting down next to her, standing guard until the moment she woke up.

Although in the end a small part of him regretted that decision, because it was several hours before she finally did wake up. The sun was getting lower in the sky by the time that she let out a large yawn and began stretching out her legs. Not entirely remembering everything right before she passed out, Eevee knew the most probable reason as to why it happened. Seeing Pikachu standing right next to her, his eyes and ears moving every way possible, she felt extremely relived again at seeing him there keeping watch over her. Ever since she fell down the hill and got separated from May her life had been a living hell, but when he finally appeared before her a small ray of light began to pierce through that hell.

But she quickly noticed when he had his eyes glued on one spot. Following his gaze, her own eyes shot open and the previous terror that she had felt was building back up. Right in front of them, the Pidgeotto that had hunted her was slowly getting to its feet. Like her, it had taken hours before the shock Pikachu give it wore off.

Getting to her feet as fast as her body would allow, Eevee moved behind Pikachu and tried to hide behind the Electric-Type, fearfully peering past him to watch the other Pokémon.

As the bird finally got itself steadied, Pikachu regained his battle posture. Glaring at the Pokémon, his eyes began glowing a steady white as he bared his small, but rather sharp, teeth while giving off a deep throaty growl. In addition to this, arcs of electricity started to pour off his body, giving every indication that he was ready for any retaliation that would come.

Even Eevee was getting nervous at the sight of what Pikachu was doing, but the Pidgeotto had a more pressing reason to be scared of the threatening pose. It took several tries, but it finally clumsily took flight, never once looking back.

Only when it was completely out of sight did Pikachu relax his stance.

"Pika?" He asked with his normal smile while looking back at the one he did it for.

"Vee," she hesitantly nodded. Though while he did surprise her at the extent of the threat he gave to the Flying-Type, she quickly realized he only showed that side for her sake.

As she looked up into his eyes, Eevee once again felt that uneasy sensation coming back to her, but it wasn't from the intimidating stance he was just in. It was the same that she felt the last few days being near him. Only this time it was even greater than before. Her heart rate soared as she felt her entire body start to heat up. But unlike before, she felt something else come to the forefront, an overwhelming sense of pride and joy looking at him like that. She understood where the joy was coming from without question, or at least she thought she did, but it was the pride which confused her. Why should she be proud of something that Pikachu did?

Turning to face away from him to try and quell this new uprising of feelings she was experiencing, the Evolution Pokémon started to walk away from her partner.

"Pi?"

Cocking his head slightly to the side, Pikachu could only wonder why she was acting like that. After her outburst towards him following his rescue he was sure that she wasn't mad at him anymore, but now she was back to the way she was before they left. He just would never figure her out he concluded.

But as his attention was off her for just a moment, he heard a soft but surprised "vee" escape from her along with a splash of water. Instantly turning his senses towards her, the Electric-Type had to try and keep from laughing at the sight.

In her distraction Eevee failed to notice where she was walking, and that took her right into a small shallow creek that was running not far from the spot they were resting at. Her foot slipped on the slick rocks and the poor Pokémon found herself plunging right into the water. Stepping back out, she found Pikachu standing nearby, barely containing his laughter. Shaking herself off, she gave him a defiant huff and started to walk away with her head and tail held high, trying to hide her embarrassment. But in the process she nearly slipped on the rocks again as she turned her focus back towards Pikachu. Barely catching herself, she could hear the now full laughter coming from the other Pokémon. Completely glad that her fur hid any form of blushing, the Normal-Type continued along the path she randomly chose, with the chuckling Pikachu not far behind.

It wasn't long before she relinquished her lead spot once she realized she had no idea as where to go. Now finally having stopped his laughing spree, Pikachu turned his attention onto the second thing he needed to accomplish now that he found Eevee, find Pikapi and May.

Focusing his attention to the bottom of the hill that they all tumbled down, he searched for any sign he could find that even hinted to their presence. All the while keeping a sharp ear and nose for any dangers that might come to them, as he did this Eevee followed obediently close behind him, even without him telling her to do so. She was scared of this forest. Even if being so close to Pikachu brought back those uneasy feelings, she preferred the odd sensation over feeling that she was too far from the one thing that could protect her from whatever was around her. And it was that sense of safety that she wanted more than anything at that point.

After another hour of searching, Pikachu finally found what he was looking for, though in a way he almost wished he hadn't. Coming to a small clearing he found it was filled with Pikapi's and May's scent, looking back at Eevee he could tell that she noticed it as well. The problem was that along with their scent, he also found stains of blood at various points around the clearing, though they were mostly around one spot. Considering that Pikapi's scent was strongest near those spots, he could only assume that it was his blood. But the fact that they weren't here was reassuring, even though one of them was injured, it wasn't enough to keep them from staying mobile.

"Pikachu," he told his partner, pointing down the path that he could tell they used.

"Vee!"

Elated that she was actually close to finding May again, Eevee was more than happy to follow. There was only one problem.

A quiet but deep growling noise put her on high alert, scanning the surrounding trees and bushes she couldn't find anything except an embarrassed looking Pikachu. A few seconds later it rang out again, this time she knew what it was because it was from her. Suddenly realizing that she hadn't eaten since breakfast, her stomach was groaning in protest.

Putting on a knowing smile, Pikachu started to look above them and it didn't take too long to find what he was hoping to see.

"Pika," he waved her over. "Pikachu pika pika."

Looking up to where he said, Eevee could see a boundless supply of fruits and berries lining many of the trees.

"Vui," she cooed while trying to figure out how to get to the delicious morsels. It didn't take long for an idea to come to mind. Taking a running start, she did a Headbutt into one of the trees. While the plant did shake slightly, it only gave her a headache more than anything. Slightly dazed, Eevee slowly walked back to a grinning Pikachu.

"Eevee vee vee," she demanded, rubbing her head with one of her paws.

"Pika."

Going back to the same tree and eyeing it over, the Electric-Type took his battle stance once more. With a short cry, he struck the tree with a powerful Iron Tail.

Unlike the Headbutt, the trees shook violently for a moment as leaves and fruit rained down on them.

"Pi," he said, looking quite proud of himself.

Ignoring his boasting and turning to the fruit that fell, Eevee tasted a couple. They were very sweet and quite delicious. Eating several of them, she turned back to Pikachu who was happily eating a few of his own. Watching him like that made the feeling come back, but embracing it slightly she walked up to him, trying to hide it and the emotions that were welling up from her as much as possible.

"Vee Eevee vee," she asked him in a slightly seductive tone while motioning to another tree whose berries looked just as delicious, but what made it better was that that tree seemed to have far more berries than any of the other trees there.

"Pika Pikachu," he countered her with another question before swallowing the last of the fruit in his hands.

"Vui, Eevee vee vee Eevee," she 'explained' while motioning to the leaves and fruit still around them.

Sighing as he knew his competitive nature got the best of him, Pikachu complied with her request. Walking up to the new tree, he repeated his former actions, and as his tail struck the tree it was once again raining berries and leaves.

"Eevee!" She cheered while running up to the new food, which was small enough to be bite nearly bite sized, but a brilliant blue color.

It took a second for Pikachu to remember what these berries were, along with the problem that was associated with eating them.

"Pika…" He tried to warn her, but it was too late.

Without a second thought, Eevee picked up one and bit down hard. Immediately a spark of pain rode through her jaw. While the berry did end up breaking in two, it felt as though her teeth did as well. Spitting the new food out she fell down to the ground whimpering, as the small Pokémon waited for the pain to pass.

Putting on a knowing smile, Pikachu gathered a few of the super hard berries and walked over to her.

"Pika pika," he told her, holding one of the berries between his paws.

Looking up at him, Eevee looked as though she would start crying again, the pain from her bite still not wanting to go away.

Once he knew she was watching, Pikachu did something that he had almost forgotten, it had been so long since he last had to eat raw Oran Berries. Focusing on the item in his hands, the mouse used what his species was famous for and passed an electric current straight through the fruit. To Eevee it looked as only a few stray sparks flaring up from the item, but to the Electric-Type he knew that there was nothing more to worry about.

"Pi," he said as he offered the berry to Eevee.

"Eevee," she quickly refused, not wanting to risk the pain again.

Cocking his head to the side again, he motioned for her to watch him again. Taking the berry up to his mouth, he crunched down on the morsel.

Watching him do this, Eevee was just about to stop him, fearing that this was just another attempt to show off, and as she heard the crunch the Pokémon visibly flinched imagining the worst. But to her surprise, he was happily eating it.

Repeating the process, he ran electricity through another berry and offered it again to his partner.

Hesitantly taking it, Eevee looked back up to Pikachu's confident smile. Deciding it was now or never she carefully bit down. To her complete amazement this one released its warm insides into her mouth. It was still about as firm as an apple but compared to the nearly rock like quality it had before she was happy about the difference. The best part about it though was it seemed to have an array of flavors as it was smoothly sweet with hints of spice, sourness, and bitterness. It was one of the best things she had ever tasted. Recalling that May had used these before in Pokéblock, she never remembered it tasting like this. As the warm fruit went down her throat she finally realized what Pikachu was doing, he was roasting them slightly with his electricity to not only warm them but make them soft enough to eat as well.

"Vee!" She declared while licking her lips.

Happy to see that she enjoyed them, he grabbed a few more to cook and she blissfully ate them all.

After their fill of the many different berries and fruits they found in the area, and having Pikachu roast virtually every Oran Berry Eevee could get her paws on, the two continued down the path hoping to find their trainers.

* * *

><p>"Oh come on Angel, you can't still be mad at me can you?"<p>

"Humph."

Even if he was using her as support, Ash could see that May was still mad at him for the last few hours. Though he also knew he was digging his own grave by repeating exactly what she was mad at. But he couldn't help it; he found a soft spot that he could tease her endlessly about. And in his mind, what made it even better was the true reason why she didn't like it.

"Although I don't think that you'll admit it, I think I know what you're really angry about," Ash told her, a playful grin on his face. "You're angry because you know that I know you actually like being called that. You're just too embarrassed to let anyone call you by that name."

"I do not!" She shot back, her face bright red.

"It's written all over your face," he teased. "I know you well enough that you can't hide anything from me for too long.

"Fine I admit it," the brunette finally said, her face heating up to levels she never experienced before. "Happy now?"

Surprised at her sudden outburst, Ash just smiled at her and looked back towards the path.

"Actually the question is are you happy now, May."

"I thought I told you to… oh. Yes, actually I am."

Though even saying that, May could feel a part of her regret hearing her real name again. Trying to suppress that thought to the best of her ability, she just pressed forward. But having to support Ash's weight was starting to really tire her. Even with him trying to take as much of the work away from her when he took a step on his good leg, she was starting to sweat and was breathing harder every minute. Ash of course noticed it the entire time, and was mentally going over what he remembered of the forest hoping that they were as close to where he was thinking.

Finally after another couple minutes of walking, the trees opened up into a large lake.

"Alright May, we can spend the night here," Ash told her as he tried to release himself from her grip so that she could rest.

"The whole night? But it's only a little past four-thirty; we still have plenty of time to keep going. It won't take long to go around the lake and still have enough light to maybe make another few miles."

"Yeah, and if we tried to continue until six like we usually did while traveling together, you would have already collapsed from exhaustion before then," he informed her while hobbling over to one of the trees and sitting down next to it. Even if he was trying to be careful, he could still feel the pain of his moving foot. At least it seemed to die down a little during their walk.

"I would not," May tried to counter. "I can still go a lot longer, just let me show you."

"You don't need to try and act tough just because you want to make up for me protecting you going down the hill May. Just trust me; we have plenty of time to make it to Auburn Town so there's no need to rush.

Looking at the knowing smile that he put on every once and a while, May knew there was no arguing with him. He saw right through her plan. It was true, even if he risked himself many times in the past, this was the first time that he took injuries like that to physically protect her from something, and she felt obligated to help him as best she could seeing as how she was responsible for the entire mess in the first place.

"Alright, I guess a short rest couldn't hurt," she conceded, sitting down next to him. But as she got her weight off her feet, her tiredness seemed to finally hit her. "Dang, I'm starting to feel a little sleepy."

"That's to be expected after everything that happened today," Ash said to her. "You take a little nap; I'll wake you up after a couple hours or so."

"Thanks Ash," May said with a yawn. "Just not too long though, I still have to sleep tonight."

Propping herself up against the tree they were leaning against, it didn't take long for her breathing to slow down as she quickly fell asleep.

"_May was more tired than even I thought. But, as I said, that's to be expected, she's done so much for me today,"_ Ash thought as he looked at her sleeping form. _"I did all that to keep her from harm, I didn't think that she would try and pay it back like this. But after that speech she gave me I couldn't go and tell her no. Besides, without her help we would have still been stuck where we landed."_

Reminded of the exactly what happened right after the fall, Ash turned red again thinking that May actually saw him in that state of undress. He wasn't one to be too overly private but he did show a respectful amount of modesty, especially around the girls. But there was another thing that came to his mind along with that.

"_She mentioned the incident at the Sea Temple today while lecturing me about how I should be more careful. I have to wonder, why did she bring that up in particular? Was it just to prove her point or was it because that one stuck with her more than the others?"_ With his thoughts going back to the dream, not only was the pain returning slightly but he also remembered the last part too. _"What May said to Pikachu in that dream, after what she told me today it only makes me think that maybe that scene was actually true. I know that my friends would be sad if I died, but I wouldn't expect her to go that far. One thing's for sure though, while I would put my life on the line without a second thought for her again, I never want to have to put her through that again."_

As Ash looked over her, a smile made its way to his face as she looked so peaceful and content sitting there. Experiencing a calming sense flow over himself, he could feel his eyes seemingly drawn to a single place on her face, her lips. He gulped slightly as he felt his face heat up again.

"_Okay where are these thoughts coming from,"_ he asked himself, trying to turn his gaze elsewhere. But when his eyes seemed to want to focus on another part of her, he quickly decided that the lips weren't as bad as he originally thought. Parted ever so slightly and covered with a thin layer of lip gloss, which gave them a soft red sheen, he could hear the air moving across them with the steady rising and falling of her chest as she breathed. _"Has she always worn lip gloss? Because for some reason I've never noticed it before. Better question, why am I noticing it now?"_

Quietly groaning as he tried to force the thought from his head, Ash let his head fall back onto the tree.

"_This is only happening because Dawn brought all that up about my friendship with May actually being love,"_ he finally concluded. _"While May and I are talking, I at least feel completely normal because I can push those thoughts aside and we become the same old friends we have always been. But in moments like this my mind just goes back to them. Is that a sign in itself?"_

Looking back at May, his eyes once again focused back on her lips.

"_They look so soft,"_ he found himself thinking. _"I wonder what it would feel like kissing them."_

Ash completely surprised himself at that last one, as he forced himself to look a different direction.

"_Okay that just proved I watched two too many chick flicks last night if I'm starting to get thoughts like that in my head even when I'm awake. Damn you Dawn, I know you were responsible for both of those movies, and the selection was no accident either!"_

Focusing on the sky, one place where he figured he could at least watch without his thoughts returning to the current issue, Ash let out another sigh.

"_If this is what it's going to be like every time I'm alone with May I'm going to have to really start seriously thinking about it. I don't think that I can take much more of this."_

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><p>Well as probably all of you guessed, I couldn't let Eevee be killed. Let alone right in front of Pikachu. But Ash is starting to feel a bit more pressure. Chapter 12 will be up on time, so until then, thanks for reading.<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

I'm very happy to hear that people enjoyed the first part of the last chapter. I put extra effort into getting that across like I was hoping and it was obviously effort not wasted. As always thank you to those who reviewed. But this chapter is one of the milestones of the fic, so without any further wait here's chapter 12.

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><p>The horizon was beginning to turn a brilliant orange-red by the time Ash began to slowly shake May in an attempt to wake her up.<p>

"Alright May, time to wake up."

It took another couple minutes before the brunette completely came out of her nap.

"Aw Ash did you need to wake me up right then?" May complained while rubbing her eyes and letting out a small yawn. "I was having a nice dream."

"Care to share it?"

Suddenly realizing what she said, May closed her mouth real fast. She was still half-asleep when she said that, and wasn't completely thinking either.

"Well it was… um, I forgot," she lied with a little nervous laughter. "It was something fun though."

As much as she enjoyed Ash's company, that dream seemed a little too far. It was a rather simple image but it brought along much more meaning than it showed. In the dream it was her, only a little older, sitting in a large chair cradling a baby in her arms. Looking over her shoulder was a man who she couldn't completely make out. She's had variations of this dream countless times in the past so that wasn't anything new or embarrassing. But for some reason, this time looking at her traveling partner she was reminded of that man. And the association she made between them didn't help when she tried to think about some other guy she knew to possibly take his place, it just kept on returning to the black-haired trainer next to her.

"_I think I need to tone down on the late night snaking while watching romance movies,"_ she concluded. _"Combined with all of Dawn's talks about love this is really starting to mess with my head."_

"So what time is it?" She finally asked while rubbing her eyes.

"A little after seven thirty."

"Seven thirty? I thought I told you to wake me up in only a couple hours! I was still hoping to get another hour or two of walking in."

"You looked so comfortable I didn't want to disturb you," Ash tried to defend himself.

"Not as comfortable as you might think," she corrected while trying to crack her neck a few times. "Ah, now that feels much better."

"So now that you're up, what do we have for food?" Ash asked. "Because without my backpack we're going to have to rely on what you have or what we can find around here. Although now that I think about it we should have gotten some of those berries that were around where we fell," he berated himself. "I hate hindsight."

"Don't worry Ash, everything will be fine. I at least have some food left with me."

Looking into her pack, she wasn't happy at what she found.

"Several packs of instant ramen, two small pots, some dried food packets, bottled water, some cooking knives, and a few different berries that I use for Pokéblock," she listed off. "Not the most reassuring batch. It's enough for a meal but it won't be all that satisfying."

Thinking for a moment, Ash came up with an idea.

"Would you mind collecting some firewood and filling the pots with some water from the lake May?"

"Sure," she said while giving him an odd look. "But what are you planning on doing? I can take care of the instant noodles by myself, you can just rest."

"Thanks but I think I'll try my hand at making it taste at least a little better."

"Wait, you're planning on cooking?"

The idea of Ash actually cooking seemed like too alien of a concept for her that she never even considered it.

"Well I can't say that I'm anywhere near Brock's level," he told her bashfully. "But after watching him do it for nearly six years I've picked up a few tips and skills here and there. It won't be much, but I should be able to make a simple pasta for you that should hopefully taste pretty good."

"I don't know Ash…"

"What, you're going to disapprove before you try it?" He asked with a happy-go-lucky smile. "If you find that you don't like it the noodles will still be there cooked and ready, although plain, and we still have the food packets."

Still apprehensive about the idea of Ash cooking, May decided to give it a shot. What's the worst thing that could happen? After asking herself that question though the coordinator got a few ideas as to what it could be flashing through her head. Shuttering at the idea, she decided to try and forget them and at least let Ash try to cook.

Gathering the firewood and some tinder first, Ash had the fire going by the time she got back with the water.

"Okay, now how did Brock say I should do this?"

As May looked over at Ash, a certain type of fear went rushing through her body. He was just starting to cut some of the berries, while the cuts he was making seemed fine, the way he held the knife to actually cut them made May fear that he would cut off his hand by the time he finished with them. She would have said fingers but at the rate he was going they would have been long gone before that.

"Ash I think that you should let me do the cutting," she told him politely while taking the knives away from him.

"Was I doing something wrong?" He asked, looking honestly surprised at her actions.

"To be frank about it, yes."

Shrugging it off, he told her how he wanted them cut. In the meantime he was boiling the water in one of the pots, leaving the other aside for the moment. It was slightly painful trying to move around even the small area he prepared around himself because of his leg, but it didn't seem as bad as earlier today.

Eventually May had everything cut like he asked and Ash put them into the pot. After about a half hour, he put the other pot on the fire to boil and around that time the first one was just starting to smell good.

"Mmm, if that will taste as good as it smells I think I may have to rethink about your ability to cook," May told Ash, barely able to keep herself from drooling. "Is that supposed to be a sauce of some kind?"

"I'm glad you have such confidence in me May," he responded in a sarcastic tone. "But yes, that's the sauce. It's not the one that Brock usually uses, because we don't have the right ingredients, but I'm just hoping that the berries we used will be close enough in flavor to not ruin it."

While continuing to stir the sauce as it boiled down, he had May take care of the instant noodles when it was about ready.

"There, that should be it," the trainer said after the sauce seemed to finally be done.

Taking a plate and putting some of the noodles and red sauce onto it, Ash handed it to May.

"I hope you like it," he said, with a confident smile on his face. "I know it won't be as good as Brock's but I'm fairly sure that it should be pretty close."

Hesitantly looking at the pasta in front of her, May suddenly got second thoughts about this. But seeing Ash so proud at what he did, she just couldn't say no. Besides, it looked good, even if she would have preferred a different type of noodle other than instant ramen for something like this, and more importantly though it smelled great. Taking a fork to the food, she grabbed some of the two and slowly brought it to her mouth.

"_It's now or never,"_ she thought.

Closing her eyes, May put the food into her mouth and stared to chew. It was almost an instantaneous reaction.

"What, is it not good?" Ash asked, worried that her look was what he feared.

"No it's not that, it's delicious!" She exclaimed after swallowing it. "I can't believe that you actually made this Ash."

"I'm glad that you like it," he said with a small sigh of relief. "You're the first person that I've actually cooked for; I haven't even made any for myself, so while I tried to hide it I was really worried that I did something wrong."

"You've mean that you haven't even tried your own cooking before?"

"Yep, this was the first time someone actually tasted my food. I've watched Brock more than enough times to essentially know what I was doing but every time that I practiced them I essentially ruined it somehow and we never actually ate it." Grabbing a plate for himself, he took a large bite. "Wow, it actually is good."

May was speechless. Sure it wasn't the best in the world but he did great for his first real try. Although that did explain the issue with the knives he was having earlier. The weirdest thing in the end was that after every bite it seemed to taste better to her than the last one.

"So why did you decide to try it out tonight?" She finally asked after grabbing seconds, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"I was fine with eating the just the basics, but you looked upset that there wasn't something a bit more tasteful," he explained. "So I figured I could give it a shot. Luckily I did things right."

"So that means…you made this for me?" Looking down at the food, May was again surprised by Ash. Not just by the food but also that he caught something she just mentioned in passing. She didn't even mean anything by it. And in the end she was the first one to taste his cooking, which, much to her surprise, was very good.

"Yep, and to hear that you like it feels pretty good to be honest."

As she continued to eat, May was debating with herself. Her tongue was telling her that it wasn't as good as Brock's cooking but her mind was saying that it was the best thing she had ever eaten. Sure there were things that even she could identify as imperfections, but every bite just continued to taste better than the last.

"May, is something wrong?"

Looking back at Ash, May just realized that a few small tears were falling down her face.

"Is it the pasta?" Ash quickly asked.

"No it's not that," she told him with her normal smile. "Or at least not exactly. I'm just really happy for some reason."

"Happy? It's good but I don't think that it's anything worth crying over," he commented while moving it around on his plate trying to figure out exactly what she meant. "Brock would have been able to prepare something twice as good as this."

"_Not to me it isn't,"_ May told herself. _"I've heard people talk about it and I could never understand how it could work, but food really does taste better when someone cooks it just for you."_

"No, you did an excellent job Ash," she said, looking back at him. "One of the best I've had. And I'm not one to lie when it comes to food."

"I still don't see how you can say that."

But even if he didn't understand it, seeing her that happy was more than enough for Ash.

By the time both of them were filled, the entire pot of pasta along with the sauce was completely gone, and most of it was taken by May.

It was after nine by the time May finished cleaning everything up and put away. The sun was long gone and the stars and moon were just starting to come out in full force. Sitting up against the large tree next to their fire, Ash and May were chatting about anything and everything that came to mind as the blaze crackled providing them with a pleasant glow of heat and light. But May was paying only enough attention to the conversation to keep up with what Ash was talking about. Her mind was elsewhere and once again being pulled in two different directions.

"_Today was nothing like I was thinking it was going to happen, but that just seems to be our luck for some reason,"_ she thought as the conversation continued. _"If it wasn't for me we would be sitting in the Viridian City Pokémon Center by now getting ready to get into a nice warm bed and preparing for the last piece of our trek to Auburn Town. Instead, we're now separated from Dawn, Pikachu and Eevee are missing, Ash has cuts all over his body to the point where it hurts too much to even walk, and it all was because I couldn't just stay where it was safe. But even after everything that I caused, he sits there with that same carefree smile he always has, and he hasn't even mentioned that I'm the one responsible for all of this mess, almost as if nothing at all has happened. Although he obviously doesn't think of it like this, or probably even know about it, the way he sits there like that is actually making me feel even worse knowing that I'm keeping secrets from him. Especially with him brining us to a contest to try and cheer me up because of said secret. Should I just tell him and get it over with? But he takes so much pride in my performances, it would break his heart to know that not only did I lose in the second round of the Grand Festival but I'm losing my skill as a coordinator as a whole. And depending on how these next few days go, I might be revealing it to him either way. Although if I get lucky I might be able to keep hiding it. But then he would…"_

"May, is everything okay?"

Snapping back to the real world after Ash interrupted her thoughts, she looked back at him.

"I'm sorry Ash; I got caught up with something. What were we talking about again?"

"That's not all that important right now," he told her. "I know you haven't been focusing on our conversation for the last several minutes. So what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."

"I know Ash," May tried to say with as straight a face as possible. "But I assure you nothing's wrong, everything is just fine." Biting her lower lip, she regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth. Keeping secrets from him was bad enough, but lying right to his face after everything he did today left an extremely bad taste in her mouth. "No, everything is not just fine," she corrected herself a couple seconds later. "I need to tell you the truth Ash."

"Well like I said, you can tell me anything," he repeated with his usual friendly smile.

"I've been trying to avoid the topic because I was worried about how you would take it, but right now I've decided that it's best to just tell you outright instead of you finding out later and learning that I was hiding something like that from you. I'm ready for what might come after it, whatever it may be," May said while trying to gain at least a little more confidence in herself to finally tell him. Noticing that he was waiting on her, May took a deep breath before finally telling him. "You've probably been thinking that I did well in my last Grand Festival, the truth is that I didn't. I didn't even make it past the second round. My performance was terrible beyond belief. If somebody who was watching me for the first time saw that, they would have never believed it if someone told them that same person was a top contender last year. I've just lost my touch, I barely made it through Johto and the Grand Festival proved it."

May couldn't even look at Ash as she said that, although she knew it wouldn't be easy she could already feel tears starting to form in her eyes. But it was what was coming next that she feared the most, his response.

"I'm glad that you told me May," he said calmly. "And I can't say that I'm not disappointed in you."

Disappointed. It wasn't that harsh of a word, but to May it felt like a hundred tiny needles hitting her heart. He was always so proud of her, but to hear that come from his mouth seemed even worse than she imagined.

"But," he continued. "I already knew about this."

Finally looking back at him, May could feel the tears slowly flowing down her cheek. Yet the fact he said he knew about it surprised her.

"Wait, you knew?" She asked, wiping away the tears. "Did somebody tell you?"

"No, I found out by myself, I think." Pausing momentarily to actually think about how he found out, Ash waved it off. "The point is though that you shouldn't try to hide these things from your friends, and that's what I was disappointed about."

"I know, but I just couldn't bear to stand what your reaction might be to hearing this," the brunette explained. "You've spent so much time to help me through these contests; even putting aside your own time that you could have used to train for gym matches. And in the process you take a great deal of responsibility for all of my wins and losses. I just didn't want to you hear that all that time you put in was wasted."

"Wasted? Now where did that come from?" He asked with a small chuckle. "No, none of that time was ever wasted. You just need to find your spark again. That's the main reason I decided to bring you and Dawn to this tournament. It's not any type of national event or regional spectacle; it's just a local contest that draws in high ranking coordinators due to timing and location. I thought it was the perfect spot for you to try and figure out what was wrong. Me getting a little bit of practice on the side was just a bonus. We can both practice before the rounds so that you can get back to the top where you belong. But to be honest, you haven't changed a bit May."

"And what's that supposed to mean!" She demanded, though with all of his smiling she couldn't help but feel herself become uplifted as well.

"You worry too much about your losses and let them get to you more than they should. In the end you just need a few good words and you're back on your feet willing to try again."

"Idiot," she told him with a small smile starting to come to her face. "You're always the one to bring me back, not always just your words but your attitude alone can be very contagious."

"And there's the May I know." Even with a few stray tears falling down her face, Ash pushed lightly on her nose with his index finger. "You just aren't the same person when you're down like that. That smile suits you far better, looks better too."

Turning away from him again, May could feel her face start to heat up from his compliment. Her heart also started to race as she repeated what he said to her in her head, but the feeling was actually quite enjoyable.

"I'm such an idiot, right?" She quietly asked.

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

"I should have known that you would actually react like this. I got caught up with how you would react to thinking that I completely lost my skills as a coordinator that I thought you would think I was a lost cause. You're my biggest fan and supporter; even if there was a chance that you would react like that I don't think I could go on with coordinating knowing that you wouldn't be there to cheer for me."

As she was saying this, May's hand unconsciously dropped into her pocket to grab hold of her ribbon for that familiar feeling of comfort and support.

"You may be an idiot," Ash told her while leaning back on the tree. "But I don't think that there is anything wrong with that."

Not entirely liking the fact that he actually agreed with her, the second part at least caught her interest.

"You think so?"

"Yep, since I'm an idiot too," he answered with a big smile on his face. "I'm on the same level as you. Outside of Pokémon, I'm far away from those who can handle the world well or can take risky gambles. I bet there's a lot of stress to handle, but if it means crying alone, come get me." Just then realizing what he was saying, Ash tried to quickly remedy it. "I mean, since I've got time. Hanging around with you keeps me free from boredom."

Matching his smile with one of her own, May found a lot of comfort in those words. Even if he did stumble over them slightly.

"Okay. I'll call you when I feel like crying."

This time it was Ash's turn to blush. With the words rolling off his tongue without him thinking, he didn't really expect an answer like that. And the way that she was looking up at him, smiling but still a few stray tears on her face, he actually thought that she looked cute looking like that. But most of all he loved seeing that smile, and was glad that she was back into her normal mood. While it was most prominent in the last few minutes or when the Grand Festival was brought up, he could still feel something like an aura of anxiety surrounding her ever since they met up again a couple days ago. Now, for the first time, he felt that aura lift. She wasn't the cheerful bubbly May that was fun to watch, but the smile she had on was truthful and, most importantly, it was hers.

It was at that point something inside Ash clicked, and he remembered Dawn's question she posed for him the night on the ferry.

"_I wasn't even thinking when I said all that to May,"_ he thought. _"It just seemed to come out on its own. Nothing like that has ever happened to any of the other girls I've met. Sure I don't want to see any of my friends crying, but I would never have even considered saying something like that. Coming to me when she feels like crying? For Misty, Dawn, or any other girl I've come across, if they were crying I would just go and take care of what they were crying about to make them happy again. Not offer that I'll be there for them if they have to cry again. The thing is though, I didn't just do that so she would stop crying, I did that to see her smile again. That smile… Every time I see it I can't help but smile along with it, and if it isn't there on her face I want to put it right back on. The entire afternoon I tried to make sure that it never left her face, because I know deep down she feels guilty for starting all this. And if I brought it up, I would lose being able to see it."_

Feeling his heart start to pound against his chest and his stomach doing summersaults as he thought about this, Ash thought that he may actually finally understand.

"_I wonder, does this feeling actually mean I like May as someone more than a friend? It seems weird that I'm doing so much just to see one person smile, but I enjoy seeing that smile and I'll do whatever is necessary to make sure that it doesn't have to leave her face. Just seeing it makes me feel great inside. Even more so when I know that I was the one to cause it. This is it, isn't it? Is this what love really feels like? It's an odd sensation; the funny thing is it's hard to even call it a single feeling. So far while I was thinking about it I felt anxious, excited, and nervous as I got closer to the answer. Sure I still feel those, but not as much as before. Now I mostly feel calm, comfortable, and happy. But to make it even simpler, it feels good just being next to her and seeing her smile."_

"Ash? Are you okay?"

Coming back to reality from the realization he just made, he looked back at May. As he did, he could feel his body start to heat up and heart continue to race as he looked down at her face. But now, it was less of an uncomfortable feeling and almost more of an exhilarating one.

"Yep, I'm fine May," he told her, completely ignoring the fact that his face was probably bright red. "Never been better."

"You sure? Because your face is all red."

"Must just be the heat from the fire," the trainer tried to conclude. "I am a little warm right now."

"Really? I'm getting the chills every once and a while when that wind blows through here."

Moving closer to the fire and Ash, May extended out her hands, letting the heat from the fire warm them to a comfortable temperature.

But for Ash, while he answered one important question that was eating away at him for days, there was a few more that took its place.

"Hey May?" He asked while looking into the crackling fire. "Do you think that even if time passes or your life moves on, you can have feelings that don't change?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that, and where did it come from?"

"It was something that Dawn was talking about a few nights ago and it kinda got stuck in my head." To Ash it was a blatant lie, but it at least there was enough plausibility behind it that May didn't seem to wonder otherwise. "I think she was talking about it in terms of friendship and … love."

May gulped slightly at the second word he said, love. She knew Dawn was interested in that topic the last couple nights, and it only made the brunette wonder more about what was going on in the other coordinator's head. But if she was talking to Ash about things like this, did that mean… Shaking her head, May knew she had to give an answer, even though a strange pain started to form in her chest.

"So the question is do feelings change over time, huh?" She repeated. Thinking it over a bit, she surprised herself with what came up with as an answer. "Rather, I think that's exactly what it's like to have feelings for someone. And it's those accumulated feelings that make their present all that much better."

"Accumulated?

"It may sound a bit exaggerated, but even for you and me, in our time together, our feelings have accumulated too."

May's eyes grew big as she just realized what she said, especially in the context that they were talking.

"_What the heck am I saying?"_ She asked herself, hastily looking away from Ash. _"That's not the type of thing I should be saying when we're talking about love in general. I hope that Ash didn't get the wrong idea. Although it is true in one sense, it's not like I'm actually in love with him. I mean he's my best friend."_

Luckily for May, while she was trying to convince herself of what she meant by that, Ash was completely caught up with what he was trying to figure out from the question to notice the implications created from that statement.

"I think I understand. And by going forward they'll keep accumulating, huh?"

"Yeah," she said with a small laugh. "On that note though, we should probably get some sleep."

Grabbing some water from the lake to douse the fire, May took the blanket she had in her pack and sat right up next to Ash. Pulling the blanket over both of them, Ash didn't realize until then what she was actually doing.

"Um, May?" Ash asked as he finally realized where she was sitting.

"Before you say anything Ash, I have a few things to tell you," she interrupted him and counting off each of her points with her fingers. "First, without the fire that cold wind will feel even colder tonight, and seeing as how this is my only blanket on me because our original plan was to be in Viridian tonight, and because you lost your backpack and any blankets you had in there, we don't have any more. Second, the blanket isn't that big, so for us to both be underneath it we're going to have to sleep next to each other. Finally, no you're not going to play the hero by saying that I can take the blanket myself and leave yourself in the cold. Because with your leg as it is you need is just as much as I do, if not more. Now, any questions?"

"Nope, I'm good," he responded with a nervous laugh. "You seem to have covered the basics."

Moving up closer to Ash, May could not only feel the warmth of his body but the sense of safety that she always felt being next to him. Giving off a big yawn and closing her eyes, the brunette leaned her head back up against the tree as sleep started to take hold of her. After a minute or two, much like before, her head started to feel uncomfortable as it was. This time though, without thinking she dropped it off to the side where it landed on Ash's shoulder. Sighing as she could feel the comfort returning, the brunette was barely awake and didn't notice that this surprised the trainer to no end.

"May?"

"Mmm, comfortable," she mumbled, snuggling into the new position a little more. "Night Ash."

Just before she fell asleep completely, the same smell she had encountered the last two nights in Ash's room greeted her once again, but much more noticeable this time. Smiling at the subtle scent, it was all she needed to finally drift into her dreams.

While he was obviously embarrassed by suddenly being pressed up against the girl just moments ago he figured out he was probably in love with, Ash had to say that he didn't dislike this. Being this close to her he could feel the warmth of her body, the softness of her skin, and even smell the hint of strawberries from her shampoo. When May first pushed herself next to him with the blanket, his heart was racing a mile a minute, but after a while he was starting to get used to it and it was slowly returning to normal.

"_She really does look even more beautiful when she sleeps,"_ he thought as he watched over her sleeping form.

Unable to hold himself back, Ash gently ran his hand through her hair. Even with her able to keep it perfectly in place around the sides of her head, he was surprised at how soft it was as well.

Mumbling slightly in her sleep, Ash quickly withdrew his hand. But May wasn't waking up. Almost as if in response to his touch she smiled slightly and just pulled herself closer to Ash.

Smiling in return, Ash hesitantly began to put his head down on hers. After second guessing himself several times, worrying about if this was taking advantage of May; the trainer finally let it rest naturally on hers. Feeling her relax somewhat at the new pressure, the trainer's mind felt at least a little more at ease. Ash may have just figured out his true feelings only moments ago, but the sensations of having her sleep next to him felt natural. Almost as if the two of them were meant to be like this. Although he knew that was more than likely only his imagination running wild, the trainer enjoyed thinking about it. Whether it was his imagination or not, he couldn't deny that even this simple contact with her felt great.

"_I could get used to this,"_ he admitted to himself after what was probably already an hour. _"But even if I know how I feel, it matters even more how she feels about me. She really does think highly of me, that much I got tonight, but she also said that if she lost me as a friend she wouldn't be able to continue coordinating. I wonder if that would affect her decision if I confessed how I feel to her. The last thing I would want is for her to feel obligated to say yes while thinking that if she said no, I wouldn't want to be near her anymore. And here I thought that the hardest part was just figuring out how I felt, now I have to deal with if I should tell her or not."_

But looking back down at her sleeping face, he could feel those worries leave for now.

"_Great, now I have more thing to think about. But I'll let it wait for tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be able to meet up with Pikachu and Eevee before we leave the forest; otherwise it'll only be harder for them to find us."_

Slipping his free hand into his pocket, Ash felt the familiar form of his Terracotta ribbon.

"_Dawn asked me why I always carry this around,"_ he thought as he played around with it in his pocket._ "At first, it was because it brought a comfortable feeling as I remembered who it represented and everything that we did while together. Eventually I turned that feeling, and object, into my good luck charm. Yet I know that memories alone didn't create that feeling. Now that I'm back with her right next to me, the comfort I felt from that is similar but doesn't seem nearly as much as what I'm feeling right now. It's still the same, but much stronger. I can only think of one reason for it to be like that, I wasn't associating our ribbon with our memories together. I was associating it with her. So I guess that means in one form or another I've considered her my good luck charm and the ribbon was only something to help represent that."_

Suppressing the small amount of laughter he got after thinking that, Ash knew that things were definitely going to change.

"_Now that's something I wouldn't have considered in the past, May as my good luck charm. If my guess as to what Dawn is planning is correct, I think she would be thrilled to hear that one. If I ever decide to tell her that is."_

Putting his arm around the brunette's shoulder, Ash pulled the sleeping coordinator all that much closer. At this point he could barely keep his eyes open, yet he subconsciously still tried to fight it.

He could tell. He somehow knew that if he fell asleep the dreams he would have couldn't even start to compare with what he was feeling now. Yet he could only stay awake for so long and eventually his eyes just got too heavy to keep open any longer. Although it didn't help that the same reason he didn't want to go to sleep was the main reason he felt comfortable enough to fall asleep.

"Goodnight Angel," he finally whispered to her before letting the slumber overtake him.

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><p>And there's that milestone I mentioned. But don't worry, while Ash may have brought most of his ideas together this isn't the end of the story just yet.<p>

Before I end this I'm making a bit of an announcement. Due to Thanksgiving I won't be near a reliable internet access for the next update. While I could technically do it all from my phone I think it's just best to allow everyone to enjoy the holiday with their families and not have to think about this. So while these days mostly coincide with my readers in the Western Hemisphere, there will be no update this Friday and chapter thirteen will be posted around the normal time on Sunday.

So to everyone who celebrates it, have a Happy Thanksgiving and I hope to see you back in a few days.


	13. Chapter 13

This got uploaded a bit earlier than usual because I'll be busy but I doubt you guys really care. But with this chapter this has officially become my longest fic, but like I said last chapter, there's still a ways to go before the end. Well last chapter was definitely an eye-opener for Ash, but he still has a ways to go. Hope everyone had a good weekend and thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. And here's chapter 13.

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><p>Keeping watch over the area that they had decided to stop for the night, Pikachu made sure to keep his eyes and ears as alert as possible. Eevee was already asleep in a shallow burrow located underneath the rock that he was perched on and he didn't want to let anything get past while he was on watch.<p>

They had been following the scent of their trainers for hours, but already being hours behind them their progress seemed slow. At least he was confident about the fact that they were faster than their human counterparts and that they would meet eventually, even if traveling for the same amount of time. While his sense of smell was good, Pikachu knew that it wasn't nearly good enough to figure out anything but the direction that they went. He wished that he could at least have been able to find out how long it had been since Pikapi and May had passed by, but it was nothing more than that, wishful thinking. The best thing that they could do right now was just to continue following the trail and hope to catch up to them.

Hearing an odd noise come from below him, Pikachu looked down at his current partner. Unluckily for them, Eevee was unable to make much of a hole in the dirt due to the rocky soil. She was at least able to get enough out to form a depression in the ground that partly went under the rock, but the wind could still blow across her. It was odd that such a wind could blow through a thick forest like this, but the Mouse Pokémon assumed that it must have been from some large nearby lake or river that opened up the forest enough to let the blowing air in. He too could feel how cold the wind was, but was used to more adverse weather than this so it did nothing but send a quick chill down his spine every once and a while.

Hearing the noise again, the Electric-Type could see Eevee shivering as the air blew across her sleeping body.

Giving one last look around, he decided that it was probably safe enough to go to sleep as well. If anything happened he knew his ears should be able to pick it up, and unlike his nose he was extremely confident in his ability to listen.

Jumping down from his spot, Pikachu walked up to the other Pokémon. Knowing that there was really only one efficient way to keep her warm, he laid down next to her with his own body blocking the wind while his tail curled in around the other side of her. He noticed rather quickly that she stopped shivering. In fact only a few minutes after doing this, Eevee was already moving in closer to him to savor the warmth.

Giving an exasperated smile as his younger companion, Pikachu gave off a yawn and likewise began to enjoy the warmth that her own body gave off. He was just glad that he knew without a doubt that she wasn't mad at him anymore, even if he still wasn't thrilled about how he found that out. He was relieved beyond words could describe that he was able to come to her rescue just in time. While the Electric-Type didn't want to think about what would have happened if he was only a few seconds later, especially if it was only those few seconds, it was hard not to. He wasn't even sure how he would have felt if he was forced to witness that. The only thing he did know was that even with his usually calm demeanor, every one of those emotions would have been taken out on that Pidgeotto without mercy. There weren't too many things he would truly lay his life on the line for, but she was one of them. Putting those thoughts aside, he knew he didn't have to think about them because she was sleeping soundly right next to him. And for that he was thankful.

Considering the difference when they both fell asleep, it was likely that she would be up before him. Resting his head on the soft ground, his thoughts wandered from the Pokémon next to him to Pikapi and May. Ever since he found the blood, Pikachu couldn't help but worry. But the further they had to follow their scent the less worried he became, knowing that if they made it that far it was likely they didn't have too many problems. Understanding that worrying about it now would accomplish nothing, he let himself finally fall asleep.

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><p>As Pikachu predicted, Eevee was the first to awake the next morning. The sun was barely up but the many different bird Pokémon let out enough noise that even without the sunlight it would have been hard to say asleep.<p>

Before she even opened her eyes, the Normal-Type could feel a very comfortable warmth coming from next to her. Snuggling into the soft heat, Eevee nearly fell asleep again but the call of a Pidgeotto snapped her instantly awake. Eyes and ears up and scanning every possible angle, she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't anywhere near them. It was then she noticed what that heat she was enjoying was coming from. Curled up right along with her was Pikachu, who even while asleep had his ears twitching, taking in every sound around them. Being in such close contact with him brought back that odd feeling, but with him still asleep it wasn't nearly as bad. In fact Eevee put her head down on his sleeping body and took a deep breath, allowing herself to relax again as she waiting for him to wake up. In addition to the heat he was putting off, the Evolution Pokémon giggled slightly as she could hear and feel his heartbeat. It was slow and steady, almost matching the rising and falling of his body from his breathing. Hearing that was almost like a soothing drum to her and eventually even the calls from the bird Pokémon weren't enough for her keep from falling back asleep. Just knowing that he was right next to her was enough to feel like she was protected from anything and everything.

It was another hour before Pikachu woke up, and when he did the mouse was a little surprised to find Eevee wasn't as he left her in when he fell asleep. Knowing that they should start moving as soon as possible he began nudging her in an attempt to wake her up. In the end, the only response he received was a light groan as she shifted herself into a slightly different position.

Sighing, Pikachu decided to take a bit more direct approach. Seeing as how she was touching his body it wasn't hard to send a small jolt through himself and into her. It wasn't anywhere close to enough power to actually hurt her, but the shock surprised Eevee enough that she instantly jumped right off of him.

Finally getting to his feet and stretching them, Pikachu glanced over to see a very annoyed looking Eevee with much of her fur standing unusually on end.

"Vee," she growled.

Trying to contain his amusement, the Electric-Type nonchalantly looked away and started back down the path.

"Pikachu," he finally told her, unable to hold back his laughter anymore.

"Eevee!" She yelled back, but before she could do anything he was already running off in the direction they needed to go.

Not at all happy about her wake up call, the young Pokémon could only run down the path after him, hoping to get back at him sometime soon for that comment about her fur.

* * *

><p>May awoke as a slight shiver ran through her body. Feeling rather cold she tried to pull the blanket closer to herself. After another couple minutes the cold feeling didn't seem to go away. Finally opening her eyes along with a quick yawn, she found that she was still under the blanket but Ash wasn't next to her. Looking around, all she found was the blackened embers of their fire last night.<p>

"Ash?" She called out. Knowing that he was still hurt she was getting a little nervous.

Sitting up from her spot, May started to look around their campsite.

"Ash!" She called out again. "Where the heck did he get off to?"

Hearing a small splash out near the water, she finally found him.

Walking out to a small outcropping of rocks, the brunette sighed while wondering what was going through the boy's head. Even with his hurt leg, there he was slowly swimming in the lake. Because he obviously didn't have his swimming trunks he was currently clad in only his jeans.

"Oh, morning May," he said as he floated by. "I woke up about a half hour ago and got the sudden urge to take a dip. The water is actually surprisingly deep right here."

"Ash what are you doing?" May asked him in a concerned tone, as she went down on her haunches to talk to him in a more personal fashion. "With your left ankle and leg as they are you shouldn't be moving period."

"Actually they feel a lot better than yesterday, so you don't have to worry about that anymore. But you should come in too, the water is a little on the cold side but you get used to it real quick."

"No Ash, I don't want to want to get wet right now," she told him. "What I want to do is find Eevee and Pikachu so we can get out of this forest."

"Don't worry about that too much; they should already be on their way here. So in the mean time we can just relax and wait for them."

"No offense Ash, but you don't seem like you care about whether you get Pikachu back or not right now."

"It's not as if I don't care, I just trust him and his abilities to make it back to us. And knowing him he has Eevee right in tow, making sure that she is safe as well."

"Sometimes I don't know where you get your optimism from. But either way, you should get out right now. You're only going to catch a cold if you stay in there without warming up."

Floating past her once more, Ash got a fun idea.

"Alright May," he said while swimming up towards her. "But like I said, the water is deep here so would you mind helping me out? You know, with my leg and all it still won't be as easy as it normally would be."

Extending out his hand to the brunette, May was suspicious from the get go. If it wasn't for the fact that she was too worried about his leg, she would have just backed off and let him get out on his own. But her mothering nature that was coming out since yesterday got the best of her.

Reaching out to grab his hand, she started to pull him up once she had hold. Of course her better judgment was correct in not trusting Ash in this situation. Resting only on her haunches, May's stability wasn't all that great in the first place, so it wasn't that hard for Ash to put his weight onto their grip to pull the brunette into the water.

"Ash!"

Barely able to get a breath before she struck the water, the cold plunge hit her like an electric shock as it spread across her body. At least Ash was right when he said it was rather deep right there, probably a good three or four meters. Giving off several strong kicks, May surfaced with a gasp for air. At the top the only thing she found was a laughing Ash.

"Ash Ketchum you jerk!" She yelled out with a few coughs, the beginnings of rage evident in her voice.

"Oh just relax May," he finally said. "Like I said the water is quite nice."

"That's not the point!"

As she swam back up to the outcropping, the coordinator was already feeling what he meant, the coldness that hit her when she first entered was already fading away and it felt quite comfortable. Pulling herself out of the water, she found that Ash wasn't far behind her. Propping himself up on the rock dripping wet, he had the biggest grin on his face she could ever recall seeing.

"See? Told ya it wasn't that bad."

"Yeah, actually you're right," she told him as grin comparable to his grew on her own face.

Before Ash knew what was happening, May's hand was on his face and with a solid push backwards caused him to fall right back into the water. It took a few seconds for him to resurface, when he did he found his partner laughing.

"In fact, it felt so good I figured that you should go right back in," she told him while continuing to laugh.

"Ha ha, very funny," he responded while pulling himself out of the water as well, even though he still had a smile on his face. "But I guess I did deserve it."

"That you did. You're just lucky that I didn't have my pack on me when you pulled me in. Otherwise you would have had a lot of new things to buy me."

Watching the trainer come back to the campsite, some of her questions were answered. To her surprise he was walking, abet a very obvious limp.

"Are you sure you're okay Ash?" She asked as he hobbled over to the tree they fell asleep at. "Your leg doesn't hurt too bad does it?"

"Nah, it isn't too bad." Wincing slightly as he sat down, overall he looked very refreshed. "There's a little bit of pain but I can manage."

Still worried about how much pain he actually was in but not showing, May suddenly felt cold again as the wind blew over her wet body.

Looking over at her, Ash's face quickly started to turn red. With the water weighing them down, May's clothes were sticking to every curve of her body.

"_This isn't helping me figure out my problem of whether to tell her or not,"_ Ash silently groaned.

"Maybe you should change out of your wet clothes before you catch a cold," he suggested while trying to not stare. But try as he might, there are just some things that are virtually impossible.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Turning around to head into the woods, May paused momentarily to look back. "You just better not look!"

"You don't have to worry about that one," he said with a smile. "But here."

Tossing her something, May caught it and realized that it was his sweatshirt. Seeing the cuts and stains across the fabric brought back some of the guilt she felt yesterday.

"And what should I do with this?" She asked.

"When you change clothes, put that on. While you're doing that I'll get a fire started."

"I have my own clothes you know."

"Yeah but putting dry clothes over a wet body would kinda defeat the purpose." Groaning as he got to his feet, Ash looked back to her. "So just wear that until you dry off and then you can go and put on your dry ones."

Frowning slightly, she knew that there was at least truth in what he said.

"Alright."

Heading into the woods a ways, May did exactly that. Taking her wet clothes off, she took one more look at the ones he gave her. One of the arms was nearly torn to shreds but the rest of it was more-or-less intact, and it appeared just long enough so she didn't have to worry about it not covering anything. Although it was just reminding her of everything that she caused yesterday, May couldn't help but smile.

"_He always was the considerate one,"_ she thought as she put the sweatshirt on. _"Somehow it's still warm."_ Holding her arms across her chest, the coordinator couldn't help but enjoy the strange warmth it did give.

Sure enough as she hoped, between the size and a few tears around the lower back and sides, the shirt came down to mid-thigh length. Even if she still felt a little embarrassed not having her biking shorts on underneath, it was only Ash around here so she wasn't too worried.

Walking the short distance back to camp, she found Ash sitting there, still shirtless she noticed, with the fire going and a pot of water boiling. But even if he was shirtless at least it wasn't something that disgusted her. After all those years of traveling Ash had a compact build and had a decent amount of muscle tone to his body.

"I hope you don't mind me making the last of the instant noodles for breakfast," the trainer said to her once he saw her walk up. "Looks like my sweatshirt worked perfectly."

"Yeah it did, I guess."

May could feel her face start to heat up, though she couldn't really tell why. Putting her shorts, blouse, socks, shoes, and t-shirt down near the fire to help speed the drying, she sat down next to Ash and brought her knees and legs into the shirt and wrapped her arms around them as the cold water began to give way to the heat of the fire.

"I was hoping that I could enjoy the water a little more before you woke up," Ash admitted, breaking the silence. "We have plenty of time to reach Auburn Town so relaxing a little was nice. Besides, the water felt good on my ankle."

"Maybe, but because of that you could have done more damage than good," May said in the same motherly tone that she was picking up as they continued through the forest.

"Yes mother," he chuckled.

"I still don't completely understand how you can laugh at this." While she was technically lecturing the boy the brunette couldn't help but smile along with him. "But we had to change the bandages anyways so that part isn't that big of a deal."

"I don't have to take my pants off again do I?"

"Probably not," she giggled. "Unless you suddenly feel like the streaking type."

"Not a chance in hell," he countered while looking away from her.

"I'm joking, but on that note turn around. I might as well check some of the others."

Sighing, Ash did as he was told. As May took off the patches that she put on yesterday, the trainer flinched slightly at times as the adhesive grabbed a bit too well.

"These all look good at least," the coordinator informed him. "They've all scabbed over, but I should probably put new patches on a few of the larger ones just in case. Now for the bad one." Seeing the embarrassed look he gave her, May couldn't help but giggle a little. "Don't worry; just carefully pull your pant legs up. Yesterday was more of an emergency. But the fact remains that I've already seen you like that, you don't need to worry too much."

"Easy for you to say."

It was never easy for Ash to talk about topics like this, especially around May. Of course part of that reason was because she caught on to almost everything he didn't like to talk about around her and was ready to tease him about it whenever the situation presented itself. While swimming it wasn't as big a deal, but back and just sitting on land being shirtless to help dry himself was getting embarrassing. It also didn't help that he was becoming more self conscious about how he looked to May.

"Oh come on, while you shouldn't be running around in them, they're only boxers."

Even though she said that, May was turning red at the thought. Shaking her head to try and clear it, Ash was quick with a counter that brought part if it right back. Problem was it showed exactly where his mind was to a careful observer, luckily for both teens the brunette wasn't one of them at that point.

"Oh? And why can you say that about me but not yourself?" Though as he said it, he strained to keep every part of his brain from forming the mental image he just mentioned.

"Because I'm a girl, that's why. Do you really need a better answer than that?"

"Why do I get the feeling this is one of those double-standards things that people sometimes talk about?" He muttered.

"Stop complaining so much, it's not like it matters anyways." Taking her focus off of the odd discussion, she returned to what she needed to do. "So unless you want them to come off, lift your pant legs. We can't have something like that sitting in a wet bandage."

Sighing again, Ash did just that.

"What's with all the sighing? You know this has to be done."

Unwrapping the bandage and tossing it aside, May took a close look at the gash. It wasn't too surprising to see that it was healing slower than the other wounds, but it already seemed a lot better than yesterday. Turning back to her pack, Ash's eyes went wide as he noticed what she grabbed.

"I think we can do without that, don't you May?"

"Now Ash, we need to keep those clean."

In her hand was the bottle of hydrogen peroxide she used yesterday and for Ash the pain caused by that one bottle seemed far greater than anything the fall gave him.

"Don't be a crybaby; it'll only last for a moment."

"I'm no crybab… yeeoow!"

Much to his surprise, May started right off with the cut on his calf.

"I think that says otherwise," she laughed.

"This is a special circumstance," he said through gritted teeth.

"Of course."

After the first was done, the others didn't feel nearly as bad.

"Now keep your back off the tree," May instructed as she put everything back. "I'll redo all your bandages after you've finished drying off. And make sure not to put your pant legs down until then, we need to keep everything dry."

"Yes Mother."

Glaring slightly at him for that comment, her attention on Ash was suddenly turned as she heard a faint Pokémon call coming from the woods.

"Looks like we're going to have company," she heard Ash say as he looked in the same direction.

Wondering what he meant by that, it didn't take too much longer to find out. Two small figures came running out of the trees and were instantly upon them.

"Pikapi!"

"Eevee!"

Running up, the two small Pokémon jumped right into their trainer's arms.

"Eevee!" May cried as she held the Pokémon tightly against herself. "You're okay! I was so worried about you."

"Vee."

The feeling was mutual as Eevee was almost in tears rubbing up against her trainer's face.

"Hey Pikachu," Ash greeted his starter while the Electric-Type was on his shoulder rubbing up against his cheek. "I knew you would be just fine, and more importantly I see you did a great job protecting Eevee."

"Pika," he firmly nodded.

"It's great to have you back Buddy."

It was only then that Pikachu noticed the cuts and scrapes around Ash's body, and when his eyes fell on the one on his left leg Pikachu seemed to mellow out fast.

"Pika pika Pikapi?"

"Don't worry Pikachu, I'm just fine. And I don't regret doing what I needed to do when I got it. Now that everyone is together again, how about breakfast? It's only instant ramen but it'll feel good going down either way."

"Pika!"

"Vui!"

Splitting the noodles into two large portions, Ash handed one plate to May and kept the other for himself. As the four of them ate, the atmosphere around them was quiet but it wasn't a bad quiet. Pokémon and human partners were simply enjoying their reunited company.

After they were finished eating, May went and replaced Ash's bandages before collecting her now dry clothes from the ground.

"I'm going to go change now," she informed him. "And after I get back we should probably start heading to Auburn Town so we can meet up with Dawn."

"Sounds good to me."

Watching her leave with Eevee happily perched back on her shoulder, Ash suddenly thought he say a few flashes of pink poke through a couple of the cuts in his sweatshirt before May disappeared into the forest.

"Ugg," he groaned while dropping down and lying on the ground, flinching slightly as he felt a small shot of pain from various cuts. "I never would have noticed things like that before a few days ago. Or I may have noticed it but it wouldn't get into my mind like this."

"Pi?"

Turning his head to face the mouse, Ash saw the confused look on his face.

"Guess you should be the first one I tell, huh Pikachu?"

Sitting back up, Ash could feel his heart start to quicken again as he turned to face Pikachu.

"Truth is, last night I think I found out what my feelings for May actually are. I think I'm in love."

"Pi?"

"Oh come on, you don't have to act that surprised," he told his friend, his annoyance quite obvious from his tone of voice. "It just kinda hit me last night. I know Dawn for one will be overjoyed at hearing this but even if I solved one problem, I didn't think about the problem that comes right after I figured out that one. Now I have to tell her how I feel."

"Pikachu pika pika Pikapi."

"If only it was that easy Buddy. No matter how I break it to her, it'll change our friendship forever. Although to be honest, that's not really what I'm completely worried about. Sure that is on my mind, but there's something else that worries me. Last night after I revealed to May that I knew about her losing the Grand Festival, she mentioned that she relied a great deal on even the knowledge that I was supporting her the whole way. My problem is I can only wonder how she would react after I confess to her. Part of my mind is thinking that she would accept it simply because she would be scared of losing me as a friend, going back to the first reason of course, and not because she felt the same way. I had to take a small swim right before you got here so I could attempt to clear my head and think about it."

"Pika."

"So…yeah. Not really the greatest thing to have to think about when I consider what to say to her, and that's even if I decide to do it. But on to other matters, has Eevee finally gotten over whatever was keeping her from going back to her normal self around you?"

"Pi pi. Pika pika chu Pikachu."

"So so? Then it looks like you have a bit more to go as well, but at least it sounds as if she's getting back to normal."

"And what are you two talking about?"

Sitting back up, Ash saw May coming back in her usual clothes on and his sweatshirt in her arms.

"Just talking about what happened yesterday," he answered honestly.

"Well put your shirt on, it's time to go. Here's your sweatshirt back…and, thanks."

When she found that Ash was just staring at her and not answering, May suddenly became very self conscious of herself.

"What, do I have something on me?"

Looking around at herself, she didn't see anything sticking to her or torn.

"What are you staring at?" She finally demanded.

"Your hair."

"Oh this? I didn't have time to get it in place, especially after that quick swim, so I just combed it down and put my bandana on top. Does it look that bad? I could always try to work with it a little more if it bugs you that much."

He had to admit that she looked different from normal and it was an odd feeling, but the new look he thought he could grow to like even more than. Without it bunched up in the two almost iconic bangs, May's hair seemed to keep the natural bounce and slight curl at the ends while it flowed all the way around her head. Considering that it came into her face more than before, she had part of it hanging from behind her right ear. She still kept her bandana but part of it was now hidden under her locks allowing it to remain unhindered.

"No it doesn't," he said after a moment. "It looks great actually."

It was an odd feeling to Ash. At first, looking at May it almost didn't seem like her without her usual hair style. But looking at the coordinator there was no mistaking it, and the way she looked at that moment almost seemed exotic to him. Almost as if looking at an older version of herself. Gulping slightly, he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Really?" Taking a second look at her new style in the lake, she ran her hand through it a few times as if to straighten it. "I didn't have time to get it back to normal so I just went with how it came out of the water, evening it out of course. I didn't think that it would actually look good."

"You look great May, I promise."

"Thanks Ash."

Unable to actually look him in the eye at that point, May quickly handed his sweatshirt back to him and continued walking past him in the direction where they were headed yesterday. She was surprised that Ash would ever comment about something like a girl's hair besides complaining that they were taking too long getting it ready, let alone actually compliment her on it, and the unintentional attention that she put on it made a dark blush start to form across her face.

"Now come on," she finally said. "Get your shirt on and let's get going."

"Vee?"

Putting a paw on May's face when she started to act weird, Eevee was getting worried at what she saw.

"Don't worry Eevee," May reassured her. "It's nothing. I'm just not used to hearing compliments like that from people, let alone coming from Ash. He seems a little different for some reason. I'm almost thinking that Dawn's original assessment of him might be pretty close. Maybe he could actually turn out to be a good boyfriend to the right girl."

As the thoughts of her talks with Dawn came up, May remembered a few of the comments the blunette made about what she thought of love the first night they were back together. As a few in particular came to mind it reinforced the current blush she was sporting as they seemed eerily similar to what she just experienced with Ash over the last day. Shaking her head to clear it of those crazy thoughts, she looked back to see him struggling slightly to put his shirt on and May couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

"But then again this is Ash we're talking about. He wouldn't know love if it hit him in the face. Even if he has most of the qualities to have great potential as a boyfriend, I almost feel sorry for the girl who falls for him. She'll have quite the uphill battle to even get him to look at her."

* * *

><p>Well trainer and Pokémon have been reunited and that's one more chapter down. Next one will be up at my normal time in a couple days. Thanks for reading.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

Well not much to say about the last chapter except thank you as always who chose to review. So without further adieu, onto chapter 14.

* * *

><p>"Wait up May!"<p>

Turning around, May saw Ash jogging as best he could to catch up to her, but his limp was still very evident. She did notice that he only had his t-shirt on and not his sweatshirt which was tied around his waist.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "You ready?"

"I have been for a while now. And is there a reason that you aren't wearing your sweatshirt?"

"I don't really need it," he answered. "Besides, it's ruined anyways."

"Yeah I guess."

Figuring that he was just comfortable not needed to hide his scabs she figured there was no reason to mention it to the trainer.

Walking along with shore of the lake until they got to the other side, the two teens continued on towards their destination. As they were walking May seemed to notice that the further they went the more Ash was almost looking for something.

"Ash, is there something wrong?" She finally asked.

"No it's… well not wrong actually. It's just that I think I'm beginning to actually remember this specific area."

"You did say that you used to play here as a kid, so is it all that surprising?"

"It's not something that I'm remembering from that far back," he told her. "It's a lot more recent."

The coordinator could only wonder what he was talking about, but all that seemed to pass once Ash set eyes on a river next to where they were walking.

"I knew it!"

"Knew what?"

"I do remember this place!"

Before she could even ask what he actually meant, Ash took off as fast as he could go in almost the exact opposite direction that they were currently heading.

"Ash where are you going? I thought we were supposed to go that way?"

"Going to meet an old friend!" He told her. "And even better yet it's a shortcut!"

"Shortcut?" She asked herself. "How can going the wrong way be a shortcut? Even back in Hoenn, while his sense of direction was bad, it was never that bad."

Not understanding one bit, she decided to at least follow the boy before she lost sight of him. Even if she didn't understand this 'shortcut', she would be in even more trouble without Ash guiding them.

Easily able to catch up to him, May found the trainer continuing to look for something.

"Okay, explain to me how this is a shortcut," she asked again.

"Well technically it's not a shortcut but we'll get there much faster this way, and you'll probably be happy to hear that I won't have to walk." Suddenly stopping at a small clearing, Ash had his eyes on the sky. "I think this should do it."

"There's nothing here."

"Not yet at least," he told her with a smile. "Alright Pikachu, think you have enough electricity to shoot a nice large bolt up into the air? That should probably bring him pretty quickly."

Finally understanding who he was talking about, Pikachu gladly agreed.

"Okay May, you might want to back away," Ash warned the brunette. "This could get pretty intense."

Standing in the center of the clearing, Pikachu began charging up his electricity. As he did the arcs of lightning began dancing off his body, charring everything around him.

"Pikachu!"

Finally launching the attack skyward, everyone there had to shield their eyes from the giant lightning bolt that he produced.

When the light died down, Pikachu still sat in the center of the clearing, just there was now a circle of blacked earth extending about half a meter around him, beyond that there were countless black spots covering the rest of the clearing from the stray bolts that came off his body.

"And what was that supposed to accomplish?"

"You'll see, hopefully it won't take too long."

Still not understanding what the boy meant, May could only wait to find out the answer. Thankfully it wasn't long before she heard something coming from the air.

Eevee heard the sound too. Instantly her ears perked up and twisted towards the direction it was coming from. It didn't take long before she recognized the noise, and a shot of terror ran through her system.

"Eevee, what are you doing?"

After figuring out what was making those sounds, the Normal-Type couldn't help but run down into May's blouse.

"Eevee are you scared of something?" The coordinator asked as she started to feel the small Pokémon shake.

Not hearing an answer, May could only wonder what actually happened to make her like this. But as the noise began to get louder, she finally recognized the sound as well. It was the sound of wing beats, and lots of them.

In moments the sky was filled with bird Pokémon. Most weren't all that big but there were three large silhouettes that circled around them all.

"I knew that would get them to come," May heard Ash say from next to her with Pikachu now back on his shoulder. He looked quite overjoyed at the sight of the flock of birds as they flew closer to them. When their forms started to come into focus, they could make out three different types of bird Pokémon that made up the flock. All of them looked relatively similar with brown feathers along their back and a light tan across their belly, but as the species grew larger a crest began to form on their head. The smallest had no crest, the next only covered the head itself, and the final ones had a beautiful crest that flowed behind them and was almost as long as the rest of their body. The three largest Flying-Types landed in the middle of the clearing while the two smaller types roosted in the trees behind them. Of the three birds that landed, there was one that was noticeably bigger than the others, standing on the ground it was nearly a foot taller than the others.

"Wait a minute," she said to herself as she got a closer look at it. "I know that Pokémon."

Pulling her Pokédex out of her pocket, May aimed the device at the largest of the three species. With a small whirring noise, the computer pulled up an image of the Pokémon.

"Pidgeot, the Bird Pokémon," it explained. "The evolved form of Pidgeotto. This Pokémon has been known to fly at a speed of Mach 2 in search of prey. Its large talons are feared as wicked weapons."

"I knew it; it's just like Solidad's. Then that means…"

Pointing the computer at the other two species, it didn't take long for it to recognize them as well.

"Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokémon, the evolved form of Pidgey. It flies over its wide territory in search of prey, downing it with its highly developed claws. Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. A common sight in forests and woods. It flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand."

"Ash, are you sure that we're okay here with all of these wild Pokémon?" May asked after getting the data. "Because, as the Pokédex said, they can be pretty dangerous."

Not entirely hearing what the coordinator said to him, Ash had something else on his mind. Running as best he could up to the largest Pidgeot, he threw his arms around the large bird.

"It's great to see you again Pidgeot," he said while burying his face in its warm feathers. "I knew that you would recognize that signal of ours."

"Pidgeot," the large Pokémon nodded happily.

"It took a while, but I kept my promise old friend. If you want to come back with me you're more than welcome. Before that though, I have a favor to ask. Would you mind taking May and I to Auburn Town?"

Seeing the Bird Pokémon looking back at the girl, Ash figured he should probably introduce them.

"Oh that's right; you've never met her before. Pidgeot, this is May. I traveled with her for a couple years after I went down to the Hoenn region. May, this is my Pidgeot. I caught him when he was only a Pidgeotto, and he was my second capture. We've been through quite a bit together, haven't we?"

Petting the feathers on his neck, Pidgeot chirped lightly at the feeling of his trainer's hands.

"Nice to meet you," May said while walking up cautiously.

"You don't have to worry May," Ash reassured her. "While he may look a little intimidating Pidgeot won't hurt you, and neither will the rest of the flock. He's been protecting them for nearly five years, and I seriously doubt they would attack anyone he considers a friend."

"If you say so Ash." Relying in the trust that she always had in Ash, May confidently walked up to the large bird. Reaching out to stroke its neck like Ash had done, she was relieved when it seemed to enjoy her touch as well. "So he's just a big softie, huh?" She giggled as Pidgeot made a few soft chirps.

"I wouldn't go that far. But as long as you don't make him angry, you don't have anything to worry about. If you do make him angry though, you better have a strong defense, because running is not an option."

"Come on Eevee, you should say hi too."

Hesitantly poking her head out of May's blouse, the Normal-Type came face-to-face with a bird even larger than the Pidgeotto. When it reflexively turned its head to look at her, Eevee quickly dropped back into her hiding spot.

"Oh come on, what's wrong with you?" May asked as she began fishing her partner out of her clothing. "It's just one of Ash's Pokémon, there's nothing to be scared of."

Finally grabbing the squirming Pokémon, May pulled her out and held her firmly in her arms.

"There, now you can say hi like you should have in the first place."

"Vee," she said softly, barely looking at who she said it too.

When the bird seemed to have no interest in her, Eevee began to relax slightly. That was until she saw the other unevolved forms perched in the trees. The Pidgey she could care less about, they looked like nothing more than stuffed dolls. It was the other Pokémon there that scared the wits out of her again. One of them in particular whose feathers still bore a black tint seemed to be eyeing her and Pikachu.

"Vee, vee, eevee!"

Finally squirming back out of May's arms, nearly tempted to bite her trainer in her efforts to escape, she went to her next best option. If May wouldn't allow her to hide from the thing that hunted and nearly killed her, then there should be at least one other who would. Moving as fast as her legs could take her; she raced the short distance over to Ash and climbed up into his shirt.

"Eevee, what has gotten into you?" May demanded as the Evolution Pokémon became nothing more than a lump near Ash's stomach. Though she was almost embarrassed at the way her Pokémon was acting, the brunette was starting to get a little worried considering she had never acted this way before.

"I think we should probably leave her alone for a little while," Ash spoke up as he felt her start to shake. "She'll talk when she wants to." Looking back to his old Pokémon, Ash repeated his earlier question. "So Pidgeot, would you mind giving us a ride?"

"Pidgeot!"

Leaning down low so the humans could get on easier, the bird was more than happy to assist his old trainer.

Making his way onto Pidgeot's back, Ash turned back around and offered a helping hand to May after placing Pikachu into his lap.

"You sure this is safe Ash?"

"I've done this plenty of times on Charizard, and Pidgeot is no different. Now come on, you wanted a fast way to Auburn Town that kept me off my feet, so here it is." Seeing her hesitate once more, Ash figured out what she was probably worried about. "You've never ridden on a flying Pokémon before, have you?"

"Not really, no."

"Then you're in for the time of your life," he told her with a big smile. "You'll love it so much you'll want to go again and again, I guarantee it."

Seeing him smile like that gave May the last bit of confidence she needed to grab hold of his hand and make her way onto Pidgeot's back.

"Now hold on tight," he instructed.

Grabbing onto Ash's waist, May braced herself for the worst.

"Okay Pidgeot, before we get to Auburn Town I think we should show May how great the skies can be, don't you?"

"Pidgeot!"

Spreading its massive wings, May could feel the air start to swirl around them as the Flying-Type began to take off. She was already impressed by the size of the Pokémon but with its wings spread to their max she could only guess that they were probably over three times as wide as she was tall, and it only made the bird look even bigger. Around her she saw every one of the other Pokémon there start to take to the air as well. Once she felt its feet leave the ground, the brunette pulled herself closer to Ash and closed her eyes. Although she trusted Ash with her life, she couldn't stop that primal fear of her feet not touching the firm ground.

"Alright Pidgeot, let's go!"

With one last large stroke of its wings, Pidgeot quickly gained altitude until it was over the forest canopy and continued even further, the entire flock not far behind.

As he continued to fly skyward, Ash could only stare as the land opened up in front of him. It had been so long since he last did this; even he had almost forgotten how great it was. It was a feeling a freedom that nothing could compare to.

"You can open your eyes now May," he told her as Pidgeot started to level off and steady his speed.

Slowly opening her eyes, the first thing May saw was the ground far below them. Grabbing even tighter onto Ash, it took her a few more seconds before finally looking once more. And when she did, she nearly forgot to breathe. The sight was literally breathtaking as the brilliant green of the forest sprawled out beneath them while the shining rivers and lakes dotted the landscape. In the distance she could see the hills and mountains, which she could assume one of which was the one that they scaled the day before, and even further in three different directions she could just make out the vast deep blue of the ocean. When she looked out at the rest of the sky, it was filled with the flock of Pidgey and their evolutions, flying alongside the visitors to their territory. But it was the great expanse of the light blue atmosphere which really made her feel small. No matter how far she looked, it just continued to stretch out further than her eye could see, and the only thing that interrupted it was a few scattered clouds drifting in the wind.

"Oh wow," she gasped while watching it all. The wind rushing up against her face was somewhat annoying in the fact that she could feel her hair flapping wildly behind her, but it was well worth the price to be able to see this. Resting her head on Ash's shoulder to get a better view of what was in front of them, she couldn't even find the words to start to describe what it was like and yet still give it the credit it deserved.

"_He was right,"_ she thought. _"This is amazing."_

Of course with May pressing up against his back, and her face so close to his, Ash was doing everything he could to prevent his face from heating up.

"You should see this as well Eevee," he decided on saying. "It is quite the sight."

Feeling her shake her head no underneath his shirt, Ash decided not to press the issue any further. Seeing a few small sets of clouds off to one side, the trainer motioned for Pidgeot to head that way.

Surprised at the sudden change of direction, May made sure to keep a tight grip on Ash. When she saw where they were headed, curiosity finally overcame her fear as she pulled one hand away from Ash to touch the cloud as they flew past. Considering how fluffy they looked from the ground, her hand effortlessly passed right through. Feeling a light film of water vapor collect on it, it was an odd feeling, but an enjoyable one nonetheless.

After nearly a half-hour on the wing, Ash finally decided that it was best to start heading to their original destination before they got too far off course. Pointing in the direction they needed to go, Pidgeot wordlessly followed his orders.

It still took another hour before they finally caught sight of the large arena that was to be used for the tournament, but they were on time. The flock had veered off from them by about half-way through their flight so it was just the two humans and their Pokémon that came in for a landing on the outskirts of the town.

"Thanks again old friend," Ash said to his Pokémon after they got off. "You were a great help today."

"Thank you for the flight Pidgeot," May chimed in. "I still can't believe how wonderful it is up there. You'll have to take me again sometime."

"Pidgeot," it happily nodded.

"You can go back to your flock now if you want," Ash informed the bird. "While I did promise to came and get you, I can't in the right mind just take you away against your will."

"Pidge Pidgeot Pidgeot."

"Pikachu pika pika chu chu."

"Really?"

"What did Pikachu say Ash?" May asked him.

"He said that Pidgeot wants to join back up with me," he explained, the exuberant smile on his face was unmistakable. "With two of the Pidgeotto having evolved he doesn't need to be the one protecting the flock anymore. So he wants to come back." Looking over at his Pokémon, Ash could barely hold his excitement. "Of course you can come back! The only problem is that I don't have your Pokéball on me right now, or any Pokéball for that matter. So you'll need to give me a few minutes to get it from professor Oak."

"Pidgeot."

Nodding once, he stretched out his wings and in moments was back up in the air, circling the town for the time being.

"You're real happy about this, aren't you Ash?"

"You can't tell," he joked with the large smile still on his face. "Pidgeot was one of my first Pokémon, how can I not be happy?"

Pulling out his Pokédex, Ash noticed that the time was a little later than he expected.

"But before we go to the Pokémon Center, we better find the place to register. They stop taking names in about an hour."

"An hour? I thought that you said we would have had plenty of time to make it here," May reamed him out. "If we didn't have Pidgeot fly us here we would have been late and everything would have been for nothing."

"I wouldn't go as far as it being wasted," he carefully countered. "But we're here aren't we? I must have just figured it out wrong because of the slow pace we had yesterday."

Realizing that it just brought it back to the fact that she was responsible for everything in the first place, May quickly let it drop.

"Well you are right, we did get here in time," she said. "Let's just get to the registration booth. I wonder if Dawn was able to make it here in time."

"She should have at least. It's a straight shot down the road from Viridian City." Remembering the lump in his shirt, Ash looked back down to Eevee who never once left the safety of her dark sanctuary. "You can come out now Eevee," he told her. "We're back on the ground, and it's only us. No other Pokémon."

Finally starting to move up towards the collar of his shirt, the Evolution Pokémon peaked out of the opening. When she finally saw that he was right, her entire body completely relaxed.

"So are you having a few problems liking Pidgeot and his pre-evolutions?" Ash asked as she draped her front paws out of the opening as well.

Shivering slightly at the memories the flying Pokémon brought back, Eevee didn't answer.

"Either way, I think we can go now," the trainer stated. "And since I have Eevee why don't you go and keep May company Buddy," he whispered to his partner who was sitting on his shoulder. "By this point she's used to having Eevee on her shoulder so I see no sense in me hogging both of you."

"Pi."

After the Electric-Type made his way over to May's shoulder, they all headed into town to find the registration booth. It didn't take long with all the signs they had posted around the town advertising the event. Eventually the two found the lines they needed to register and after another minute or so were able to give their names to the person there.

"Okay so Ash Ketchum and May Maple was it?" The person behind the counter asked. "Alright, you're both now registered. Here are your Registration Cards, make sure to present that to the judges or a representative before each round. That is going to be your identification while you are participating here. And finally, make sure that you attend the gathering at one o'clock for the explanation of the rules."

"Explanation?" May asked. "Are the rules really that different from a normal contest?"

"Not entirely, the core rules are at least still the same; it's just that each year we come up with a new way of organizing everything to make it more of a challenge for our combatants. Next please."

"Okay, I wonder what kind of rules that they will be using," May said as they began walking to the Pokémon Center. "I don't remember seeing that on the poster."

"Neither do I, but it sounds like it should be pretty fun.

"I don't know. I've been having enough problems when it was just a normal contest."

"You're just worrying too much," Ash told her with a reassuring smile. "This time I'll be right there with you to help. Remember, I've entered as well so I'm going to have to deal with these new rules too. But it's still a contest in the end, so I'll also probably be relying on you for your help just as much."

"I'm not so sure about that one," she replied, still not entirely enthused about the idea of this. Yet as she found what happened all too often, his confident attitude was starting to wear off on her. "But thanks, I'll try my best."

"That's all I ever ask for, and it's no problem. Anytime you need help, I'll be right there for you Angel."

"I want to say thanks again for hearing you say that," May started, though her down attitude was starting to give way to a strangely pleasant annoyance as her heart fluttered at the sound of that name. "But what did I tell you about calling me that?"

"That you like it but are too embarrassed to know that I'm referring to you?"

Grumbling at the fact that she admitted the truth back then, she could only deny it so much. And even then she knew Ash would see right through it.

"Fine, will you at least please not use that name in public?"

"Sure Angel."

Feeling that same effect yet again, May quickened her pace in effort to at least get away from the name and the grin that her partner had on because of it.

"Let's just find the Pokémon Center."

* * *

><p>Considering how large the town was it wasn't too hard to find the Center. Going right for the transporter, Ash dialed in Professor Oak's number.<p>

"Hey Professor," he said after the man's face appeared on-screen.

"Well hello Ash, hello Eevee."

"Eevee," the small Pokémon greeted from the collar of the trainer's shirt.

"I figured that you would have come over here early yesterday but you never did," the professor continued, looking back at Ash. "I barely saw you when you were here. Which reminds me; I never actually congratulated you on your win in the Sinnoh League."

Ash couldn't help but let out a light embarrassed laugh. Thinking about how he would have looked to someone walking in while he was trying to find information on the Elite Four and Cynthia in Professor Oak's lab wasn't something he would want to show many people.

"Thanks Professor, and sorry about that, while I was walking home that night I saw a poster for a Pokémon Contest over in Auburn Town and I figured that May and Dawn would enjoy entering it. As for myself, I'm going to use it to get a little practice for my battles in Sinnoh. So the next morning we set out for it and we just got here."

"So I assume that you're going to ask for a few of your Pokémon to be sent over, right?"

"Probably later actually, they apparently have special rules in this tournament so I'm going to wait until after I hear them before I choose which ones to take. Right now though, I was wondering if you could send me Pidgeot's Pokéball."

"Your Pidgeot?" The aging man asked. "I thought that you released him years ago."

"Not quite, I didn't completely release him because I planned on coming back for him at some point so I only let him out of his Pokéball. We took a little detour today so that I could finally fulfill my promise of coming back for him. I'll need all the help I can get for the Elite Four and getting one of my original Pokémon again should be just the kind of help I need. I remember giving his Pokéball to you before I went to the Orange Islands so it should be somewhere around the lab."

"Alright then, I'll take a look. Give me a moment."

Leaving the camera's view for a few minutes, he came back carrying a small red and while ball.

"You were right Ash; it was there with all the others. I'll transport it to you now."

"Thanks Professor."

Looking over to the transporter sitting next to the phone, it was only a matter of seconds before several beams of energy began to form into a sphere. As the light disappeared, the same ball the professor had was now sitting in its place. Grabbing the newly appeared item, Ash looked back at the video phone.

"Okay got it; I'll probably be calling you again later so May and I can fill up the rest of our teams."

"Anytime Ash, oh and one more thing. You haven't called your mom yet have you?"

"No, why?"

"Because if you do, you might want to wear a long sleeved shirt," the professor informed him.

Remembering his injuries, Ash took another look at his arms and was somewhat repulsed by the look of them. While they all had scabbed over by this point, the lines of black and dark red crusty skin wasn't the most pleasant thing to look at. Especially some of the larger ones.

"I'm not going to ask how you got them," he continued. "But you probably don't want your mother to worry about you, and that would be one way to make her do just that."

"Thanks Professor," Ash said to him in a bashful tone.

"I'm only looking out for you as well Ash, talk to you again in a few hours then I guess."

"See ya."

After hanging up, the trainer looked back at his arms.

"I guess I should have told you about those, sorry Ash."

Seeing May walk up to him, Ash began to put his sweatshirt back on. Even if it was almost as bad because of all the tears, it was still better than the alternative.

"It's not your fault May," he told her while carefully pulling the arms on the clothing down, making sure not to harm any of the scabs. "I should have noticed beforehand. I guess that was why the person at the registration desk was staring at me. I didn't think anything of it because ever since I won the Lilly of the Valley Conference I've had random people staring at me all the time. Probably because they think they recognize me."

"Well you have the Pokéball now; I think Pidgeot wouldn't mind taking a break after circling the city for the last half-hour."

"Yeah he definitely deserves a rest right now, especially after saying it would only be a couple minutes."

As soon as the duo stepped outside, Pidgeot was already landing right next to them.

"Sorry Pidgeot, we were a little later than I told you because we had to register for the contest before they stopped taking names," the trainer explained. "It's been a while since you've been in one, but I think resting inside your Pokéball will feel pretty good right now."

Activating the return mechanism on the ball, the large bird was engulfed in an aura of red light before his body turned the same color and was pulled inside the storage device.

"Good to have you back," Ash whispered to the Pokéball. "Alright let's head over to where they are going to explain these new rules. Maybe we'll meet up with Dawn over there as well."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

><p>And with that that not only has an old friend been brought back into the fold but the contest is about to begin. Next chapter will be up as usual, thanks for reading.<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

Well it seems that many of you guessed that Pidgeot would be coming back. Whether it was from either wishful thinking or you somehow saw I was going to do it I don't know, but oh well. The next part of the story is starting up and the organization for the coming battles will be revealed. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter, now onto chapter 15.

* * *

><p>Heading back to the tournament grounds, the crowd was already gathering,<p>

"Wow there's a lot of people that are going to be participating," May said with a little apprehension in her voice.

"Don't let that get to you May," Ash told her while putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You're better then virtually everyone here, you just need to show them."

"If you say so Ash."

"I not just saying it, I know it."

Although she was still nervous, May felt a little relieved by his words and actions.

"Alright everyone, can I have your attention please?" A voice called out over a loudspeaker. "As of this point registration is now closed so we'll start to announce how this year's tournament is going to be organized."

"As you all should know, the core rules and points system is exactly like the regional Grand Festival. And like last year we were able to get official judges to join us for the scoring. But here is what you all probably want to hear, and that is how this year will be different from that norm. The tournament itself is going to be split up into four rounds; the first round features a doubles appeal, the second round will be a doubles battle, the third round is a singles appeal, and finally the last round will be the top two trainers in a singles battle. Because a doubles appeal isn't common in Kanto there may be some of you that may not know how they work, a doubles appeal is a lot like the normal appeals round except that you use two Pokémon instead of one. In that round, you will be judged not only on how the Pokémon's moves are used and the bond between the trainer and Pokémon, but also on the harmony between the two Pokémon that you choose."

"That sounds interesting already," May commented as the woman's voice explained everything.

"I think they used something like it in Sinnoh for their Grand Festival," Ash said as he listened in as well. "Definitely not something that should be taken lightly."

"This is the format that we will use to whittle down the large number of coordinators that have shown up to play a part in our growing festival," the announcer continued. "There are a total of 143 participants signed up this year, our best yet!" There was a pause in the announcement just long enough for the cheers that erupted from the crowd die down. "Because there are only four rounds, the selection will be rather steep. Only the top fifty scoring coordinators from round one will make it through to the next round. Round two will cut that number in half, with only the 25 winners allowed to continue. Finally only the top two scoring coordinators will pass the second round and make it to the finals."

It was then the murmurs starting going through the crowd. Most seemed very worried about the very steep initial selection. The experienced trainers were more worried about round three, where statistically there was a much harder success rate.

"There is one other thing that we need to mention for this year's set of rules. By eight o'clock tonight, every participant is required to register six Pokémon with our staff. Once they are registered, these are the only Pokémon that you can use here and you are unable to change your selection. Each Pokémon can only be used once throughout the entire tournament. The first two rounds require two Pokémon each, while the last two require one each; and there is your full team of six. I don't think I need to mention this, but if you choose to violate these rules you are up for immediate disqualification. The selection of Pokémon that each trainer chooses will remain anonymous and will not be revealed to anyone. Choose your Pokémon carefully and good luck to everyone. If you have any questions our staff will be more than willing to answer them for you. To repeat one last time, remember you have until eight o'clock tonight to register your Pokémon."

"That doesn't seem too bad," May said as the announcements seemed to be over. "All it means is that we are locked in with what Pokémon we can use."

"No, it's far more than that," Ash told her with and intrigued look on his face. "These are all single elimination rounds, and two of them have a low amount of people who can pass compared to the number of people entering. This makes this far more difficult than most people realize."

"I'm still not completely following."

"Well, only the top 50 people make it through the first round, so with 143 people you're going up against you need to put on a rather good performance. But the third round, out of 25 people only two people pass. In other words you need to do the best you can just for a shot for one of those two spots. So let's say you decide to save using your best appealer for that round, to do this you can't use him in either the first or second round. Not a bad plan right? The problem comes if your other Pokémon aren't experienced enough to get you through either of those rounds, then saving your most powerful was a complete waste. And what happens if a large amount of people decide to just go all out the first couple rounds and don't plan to save anything for the last rounds? But then the second round is no pushover either.

"Technically if you look at the how many people can pass through, it's the easiest round. Like the other rounds, you still need to worry about whether the other coordinator is saving his cards for later or putting them all out at once, except some trainers may go into that round not entirely expecting to make it to the finals so they don't bother saving anything for later and put it more towards that one. And to make it worse, because each trainer's selection is private watching other people's battles or appeals tell you nothing. You're going into each round completely blind."

"When you put it that way I'm getting all nervous again."

"Don't worry; I've already thought up a few general ideas that should help."

Making their way out of the crowd, the two with their Pokémon started to walk off towards the Pokémon Center. Before May could ask about what his idea was, they were interrupted by a familiar blue haired girl.

"Hey guys! I finally found you!"

"Piplup!"

Looking over to where the voice was coming from, they spotted Dawn jogging down the street towards them, with the ever-present Piplup riding on her head and her egg incubator in her arms.

"Hey Dawn!" May waved to her.

"Hey Dawn, looks like you finally made it," Ash added in, but there was something that just didn't seem right. "Dawn, why are you coming from that direction? The explanation of the rules for the tournament was in the other direction."

"Yeah about that, I kinda slept in and missed the deadline," she told them with an embarrassed laugh while rubbing the back of her head. "Although I was looking forward to the contests it looks as though it's just going to be you two."

Suddenly very suspicious of the blunette's actions, Ash decided to take a more direct method next time.

"But what happened to you?" She asked after seeing Ash. "Did you get into a fight with a lawnmower? Because it looks like you lost."

"Not quite."

"Seriously though, are you okay? You told me that it was only a few scratches, but that looks like far more than just that. I can only assume that those stains across most of the cuts in your clothes are blood, and some of them look pretty deep."

"He wasn't being completely honest with you Dawn," May spoke up. "As you probably can guess, he got all of those injuries while protecting me on our way down the hill. After that he couldn't even walk yesterday. I had to treat every cut before we could start moving, he was crying like a baby on a few of them."

"I was not!" The boy tried to defend himself.

"Ah I think I'm starting to understand," the blunette said a knowing smile. "You two must have had a lot of fun yesterday."

"What do you mean by that?" May reflexively asked. But as the words came out of Dawn's mouth, her thoughts instantly went to the dinner Ash made for her and the incident at the lake that morning, even if the statement was completely ambiguous. She didn't even understand why those in particular came up.

"Dawn I have a few questions to ask you," Ash informed the coordinator while lightly grabbing her arm and starting to walk over to the side. Not entirely liking where the conversation was turning.

"Like what?" She innocently asked, not resisting the trainer in the least.

"Is it anything bad?" Snapping out of her thoughts, May was somewhat worried about Ash's sudden change.

"No don't worry May, it's nothing all that important," he tried to iron over with a reassuring smile on his face. "It's just something that I have to talk to Dawn about in private."

"Oh, okay."

As she watched them step aside and start talking out of her hearing range, May began to feel the same slight pain in her chest forming again. This time though it seemed worse than the other times, enough for her to bring her hands up to her chest where it seemed to hurt the most.

"_Why am I feeling this?"_ She asked herself. _"And why did I just start to feel it once Ash pulled Dawn aside? It's almost as if, I'm feeling jealous. Jealous of Dawn. I want to be where she is right now, and I feel I should be there instead of her. But why? Why should I be jealous of her?"_

Pikachu, who was still on her shoulder, noticed her clutching her chest.

"Pika?"

"Huh? Oh it's nothing Pikachu," she told him, while quickly pulling her hands away. Though in the end one of them still slid into her pocket and grabbed a hold on her ribbon. "It's nothing at all," she repeated.

* * *

><p>"Okay Dawn, I want some answers from you," Ash demanded as soon as they were out of earshot of May.<p>

"Sure Ash." Turning her gaze to Eevee, Dawn reached out and gave her a quick scratch on the top of her head. "Hey Eevee, you seem very comfortable with Ash don't you?"

"Vee!" The small Pokémon happily answered.

"Yeah she seems to like hanging onto my collar like that." Suddenly realizing what was really going on, Ash shook his head. "No, don't try to change the subject Dawn."

"What makes you think that I'm changing the subject?" She asked with a naive smile.

"Because I know you too well," he responded flatly. "First of all, tell me the truth. You didn't 'accidentally' sleep in, did you?"

"Dang you're getting better at this Ash." Dawn was legitimately surprised that he caught on that fast. Putting on her mischievous grin that Ash always hated, she continued. "But, you caught me. Yes, I came late purposefully so that I would miss the deadline."

It was Ash's turn to be surprised after hearing her say that; he could barely believe that she just openly admitted it.

"Wait, you aren't denying it?"

"There's no sense in lying to you right now, I can tell you know essentially what I'm trying to do and I'm just here to help."

"Okay then, but I'm still not excited that you are trying to help in your own weird way. So why did you miss the registration?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm hoping to see this contest focus more on you getting closer to May by helping her overcome her problems. If I was there too it might look a little odd if you only helped May, and if you spent time to help me it would just mean less time with her. Besides, if things work out well you two can fight each other in the finals. A nice repeat of your Terracotta fight."

"You really enjoy playing behind the scenes, don't you?" Ash groaned as the realization set in.

"Yep," Dawn responded with her usual enthusiasm. "I'm not sure where I heard it but I like a certain quote in this instance. 'If you do things right, it will seem like you've done nothing at all.' So in other words, if I play my cards correctly I can get results without one or even both of you knowing how and when I helped."

"I really need to ask you though, why are you doing this? Because this seems like a lot of work to not have a good reason behind it."

"That is one question I'm not going to answer at this time, for somewhat personal reasons, but do you regret me doing all of this for you?"

"Not entirely at least."

Dawn was quick to notice that he turned away from her slightly and his face flushed a light shade of red.

"Ooh, I think I see," she said in a knowing tone. "Alright then, seeing as how I've answered most of your questions, I have one more question for you to answer, did you find out something about yourself since yesterday?"

"What makes you say that?" He asked while chuckling nervously, not wanting to add something else to her list of things to manipulate.

"Alright then, if you don't want to answer that one I'll change it slightly. What do you think of May's new hair style?"

Gulping a little at the new question, he was nearly as hesitant at answering this one then the last one. Mainly due to the fact that he knew it would only lead back to her first one, especially if he told the truth. The fact that she caught onto it that fast wasn't too surprising to him considering how much time she put into her own hair, but the trainer wasn't prepared for the bluntness she presented it as.

"I never noticed it," he lied while trying to look over at the brunette as if seeing her hair for the first time.

"Uh-huh, and I'll believe that one once Piplup can fly. I know you better than you think Ash, and a lie like that is a bit too obvious." Watching his reaction while she was talking, Dawn was able to zero in on what his real thoughts were. "You like it, don't you?"

"I'll admit that it doesn't look bad on her but…" Noticing her grin grow a little wider with each word he said, Ash knew it was pointless. "I think she looks great with it," he corrected with a bright red blush running across his face.

"I knew it," the blunette responded with a satisfied smile. "So our little Ash is finally taking notice of girls now huh?"

"Shut up."

The way he said it was almost like a grade-schooler would react to just being teased about liking a girl from his class and it took most of Dawn's willpower to keep from giggling at the sight.

"Don't be so embarrassed about it; I think it suits her well too."

"_Though to get a good reason as to why she changed it I'll want to hear the answer from her,"_ she silently added.

"Okay then, so now that that's out of the way, back to my first question. Now that I know for sure that something happened while we were apart I'll ask it again. Did you find out something about yourself since yesterday?" Hearing only silence from the trainer Dawn decided to take a slightly more direct approach. "Now Ash, I answered most of your questions. So it's only reasonable that you answer mine. Although I think I know the answer already. You finally realized that you actually love May, didn't you?"

Ash couldn't even look her in the face. He told Pikachu without a problem, but suddenly his voice didn't want to work. Considering it was just proven that he couldn't lie to her when it came to this topic he really didn't have a choice but to tell her the truth, and silence would be equally damning to his efforts. It also didn't help that Eevee was looking up at him when Dawn mentioned May's name.

"Yes," he barely said.

"What was that? I can't really hear you." Dawn asked. She heard him just fine, but the coordinator was trying to get him to be a little more open with himself.

"Yes," he repeated, this time loud enough for everyone around him to hear clearly.

"There, you see? That wasn't too hard now was it?"

"Easy for you to say," Ash muttered while still avoiding eye contact with the Sinnoh native.

"That's just because you aren't comfortable saying yet."

"It's not that, I can tell Pikachu without a problem and I don't doubt that I could tell May if it ever happened. There's just something in me that thinks telling you will only cause more trouble."

"I'll ignore the last part you said, but even you should realize that telling Pikachu will be nothing like saying it to May while she is looking right at you. Though there was something off with how you said that, what do you mean by 'if it ever happened'?"

"It was something that I've decided since last night. To put it simply, I found out yesterday that she apparently relies on me far more than I thought for her motivation while coordinating. I'm scared that if I tell her how I feel she'll think that I won't be there for her if she says no, and because of that she'll say yes to make sure that she can keep me as a friend. I don't want to make her worry about that and commit to something she doesn't entirely feel."

Leaning up against the wall of the building he was next to, Ash took Eevee out from his shirt and started to cradle her in his arms while petting her. Almost instinctively she began to push up into his touch and purr softly. Even if the small Pokémon didn't entirely understand what the humans were talking about, she knew that Ash was the only one who made her feel as comfortable as May and she didn't want to lose either of them anytime soon. But she did at least know when he needed a distraction from what was on his mind. May did the exact same thing countless of times while they were in Johto, and seeing as how quickly Ash did it too, she could only assume her trainer got the trait from him.

"So I've decided not to tell her how I feel," he concluded. "Even if she probably won't react like that, no matter what she answers will change our friendship forever. I'm fine with it staying like it is, as long as I can see her smile."

"So you can talk about it well enough. In that case, you remember the two questions that I asked you on the ferry, right?"

"Yeah, I remember them."

"I assume you have your answers to them by this point, and like I said that night I don't expect you to tell me your answers. Those are for you and you alone. But I want to add one more question of which I would like to hear your opinion, how do you know you're in love?"

Thinking back to last night, there were a lot of reasons Ash could say as to why he loved May. Yet, there was one thing that seemed to stick out to him more than usual and as he said it a small but content smile came to his face.

"You know you're in love when you can't go to sleep, because reality is finally better than your dreams. I think I love May, because she's May; I don't know how to put it otherwise."

"And that is a good answer," the blunette said to him with a content smile of her own. "You've at least given that part enough thought to know what you want to do."

"But I want you to promise me something Dawn; I'm fairly sure I love May now, and I have you partially to thank for that, but I don't want you trying to force me to change my mind about telling her. I know that once you have your mind set on something you don't give it up easily, but I don't want you interfering with this."

"I'll promise not to force you into a decision, I can guarantee that much at least," she agreed. "But are you sure this is what you want?"

"I've been thinking about it ever since I found out that I think I really do love her," Ash told the girl as his voice fell slightly. "I just want what's best for her."

"And how do you know what's best?"

The look Ash gave Dawn after she said that was anything but kind, but the blunette continued nonetheless.

"While you may have put a lot of thought into how you feel, that was a rather quick decision that you came to if you only figured out your true feelings last night. And while I can't say that they can be right or wrong you need to realize something first. There are some feelings that are best left in the heart, but is your heart truly okay with that Ash? No feeling will come across to others if you don't put it into words."

Without worrying about a rebuttal from the trainer, Dawn began walking back towards May.

"It looks as though we took two steps forward and one back Piplup," she quietly said to the Water-Type on her head. "But at least we still moved forward, and the results of the day alone were better than I thought. I'm just going to have to be a bit more subtle with Ash while pushing May more."

"Piplup."

"I'll keep my promise of not forcing him to change his mind, but I never said that I wouldn't help guide it into finding the right answer."

* * *

><p>"I'll never understand that girl Eevee."<p>

Watching as the two coordinators joined up again, Ash couldn't help but think about what Dawn said to him.

"_Do I really know what's best for her?"_ He asked himself. _"Damn it Dawn, I hate it when you do things like this. You're making me doubt my own decision."_

"Vee?"

Felling her give a light lick to his hand and look up at him with worried eyes; it wasn't hard to know what she was concerned about.

"Yeah I know, don't worry Eevee I'm fine. But could you keep everything we've said from May? At the very least I don't want her to worry, and if it does come down to it I want to be the one to tell her."

"Vui," the young Pokémon nodded before relaxing back into his arms.

She wouldn't be afraid to admit that she didn't completely understand the human concept of love, as well as the reason why he would want to hide it. But if Ash wanted to keep it a secret she wasn't going to go against his wishes, especially knowing that he was only asking this for May's sake. She had heard her trainer talk about it from time to time, and from what she got out of it was that it was two people who really liked being around each other and cared about the safety of the other. In fact using just that definition she could say that she loved May and even Ash, but Eevee at least knew that the love the humans were talking about wasn't that kind of love. In the end though, to her the actual idea of love was more of a human concept and not for Pokémon. Sure she felt the urge to find a mate at times, but anything beyond that or becoming good friends with someone else was just foreign to her. Even if some friends were miles ahead of others.

For the longest time it was simply black and white to her, but as of late the way she had felt around Pikachu was starting to add something else to the picture, grey. Ever since that night she saw the egg that Dawn originally said was his, she understood a portion of it without any problem. At some point in her life she had decided that Pikachu would be her preferred mate and that no other would be worthy enough for that position, but she was feeling something more than just that. And it was this that she couldn't figure out. She was starting to crave just being near him. Not only did he bring a sense of safety, whenever she was around him but she just felt right. And the only thing that annoyed her more at this point than the fact that grey was introduced into her black and white definitions was that she couldn't even understand how she could truly explain how she felt around him.

Giving off a small sigh, Eevee could only look back at Pikachu and wonder what it truly meant.

"Looking at you I could almost say that you have the same problem that I do Eevee," Ash told her while stroking the soft fluffy fur around her neck. "What, do you love Pikachu like I love May?"

Looking up at the trainer, Eevee could only wonder what the heck he was thinking. Although there was now a grey area in her definition, she still had never thought that she could actually love Pikachu.

"Eevee," she quickly shook her head no.

"Really," he said with a smile. "Well either way, I should probably tell you something. Even if he wouldn't be too happy to know I said it. Pikachu has taken a liking to you, or at least enough of one that he wants to continue seeing you." Seeing that she perked up real fast at his statement, Ash continued. "So try not to avoid him as much as you have been lately, he's been getting kinda worried about you. I may not be able to say anything to your trainer in the end, but I don't want you two to suffer because of it."

Although the thought of completely overcoming these odd feelings she was having around Pikachu was making her nervous, the fact that he wanted to be around her as much as she wanted to be near him more than made up for it.

Loudly purring, Eevee happily cuddled into Ash's arms.

"Just keep that one a secret too, would you?"

"Vee!"

Walking back up to the two girls, Ash couldn't catch what they were talking about before they stopped when he got close enough.

Looking him over, Dawn just realized something.

"Ash why haven't you changed clothes yet?" She asked him. "I understand how you got the cuts but why would you want to keep wearing that shredded clothing?"

"If I could I would have already, but I lost my backpack while we were falling down the hill so I don't have anything else."

"So do you intend on wearing those tomorrow for the tournament? I know that in Kanto coordinators don't dress up as much as Sinnoh, but I don't think the judges would approve of seeing that. Not to mention the thought knowing that you've been wearing the exact same clothes for several days on end. It might be a little expensive but you might have to go buy some new ones to use for a few days."

"In that case, we should go shopping for some clothes for you Ash," May intervened. She had been thinking the same thing for a little while now, but when Dawn brought up the idea she couldn't resist it.

"Do we really have to go shopping?" Ash hesitantly asked. "Because, judges aside, I wouldn't have a problem waiting until I got back home."

"Now Ash, where's the fun in that? Besides, what is it with guys and not thinking that they need to change clothes every day?"

"Because we don't?"

"In that case, let go find ourselves a nice large mall to get some new clothes for Ash," Dawn declared with her usual energetic tone.

"No!"

May's quick outburst surprised everyone there, including May herself. Hastily covering her mouth, she could only try and laugh it off.

"I mean, Dawn you should probably go get us a hotel room before they are all filled up," she corrected. "And while you're doing that I'll help Ash pick out something. We still have time before they post the schedule for tomorrow's appeals, so there shouldn't be any problem."

"Sure May," the blunette responded, still in slight shock at the other coordinator's flare-up. But it didn't take long for the smile to return to her face. "Sure, anything you want in particular?"

"Try to make sure that there are three beds in the room," Ash spoke up. He didn't completely trust Dawn at this point when it came to things like this, but it wasn't like he had a choice.

"Daijoubu, you two just have fun shopping."

Watching May start to drag Ash away, the blunette's grin grew wider.

"_Well, it looks like I hit a nerve at some point with May,"_ Dawn told herself. _"Not a bad thing at least, as long as it gets her thinking._"

But with the realization of what was really happening with Ash once again crossing her mind, her mischievous grin softened to something like that of watching someone precious to them grow up as the two friends made their way down the street and off to a store.

"It looks like the strings are starting to fall off as the puppets start thinking and moving for themselves. But I think I still need to keep a few connected for now to make sure he doesn't do something that he'll regret down the road. Besides, after coming all this way I'm not going to end everything that quickly. I still have to have a little fun during all of this."

Letting a satisfied smile come to her face at the progress that was made even without her became evident, the blunette turned back to the main street to do the job she was assigned.

"Now to find us a hotel room," she said to her ever-present starter. "And while they are making progress, maybe another string won't hurt to make them feel a bit more comfortable with each other."

* * *

><p>To those that were a part of the old ADV Inc site, you might recognize Ash's line about how you know you're in love. For virtually my entire time posting on the site that was part of my signature and while writing this story I knew that it would be a good time to finally use it officially. By this time I've forgotten where I originally found it but it brings up such good imagery and can even hold some truth in its words. So to that end I'll say that this chapter is devoted to everyone who was a part of that board as well as the site itself. As far as I know it's long gone, but I could be wrong. While there were some bad memories that came up from there in the end, there were still many good ones too and it was still what helped shaped me as an Advanceshipper and brought me completely into its community.<p>

Well enough reminiscing down memory lane. The next set of challenges has been revealed and there are still many things that need to be overcome. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, 16 will be up on time.


	16. Chapter 16

Welcome to chapter 16. It seemed that people liked what went on with Ash last chapter so we'll just have to see how our dense-headed trainer will keep it up. Thanks as always to who reviewed and onto the chapter.

* * *

><p>As they walked down the road away from Auburn Town, May was going a little slower than Ash as he muttered something about shopping or clothes. She wasn't exactly sure which one he was more annoyed at. Her mind was still on what had just happened, especially that outburst that she even surprised herself with.<p>

"_I just don't understand it, why did I suddenly not want Dawn to come with us?"_ She asked herself while caressing Pikachu's soft fur. _"The whole time she was talking to Ash all I could do was stand and watch while holding Pikachu. I couldn't even use my ribbon to help deal with what was growing inside of me like I always do, for some reason it just wasn't enough. But the one thing that I don't understand the most is the reason that I suddenly felt jealous of Dawn when he pulled her aside like that. There was something about the fact that he had something private enough that he could tell her and yet not say it to me. And the weirdest thing is that very little of it was aimed at Ash. It's almost as though I'm close to betraying our friendship for thinking like that but it's the closest thing I can associate it with. Why am I suddenly not trusting Dawn? I mean besides her little bits of mischief to bring us here, of which I am partially thankful for now, there is no real reason I should feel this way."_

Looking back up at Ash, it was odd that she still couldn't get the blunette out of her mind even while watching him.

"_I wonder what they were talking about though. All I was able to hear out of the conversation was Ash saying 'yes' at one point, and with him looking back at me and Pikachu all the time I can only assume that they were talking about me. When Dawn started to walk back towards me Ash almost looked like he still had a lot on his shoulders even after talking to her, and I seriously doubt that it's just his Elite Four battles or the issue with Paul. But when I asked her about it she just waved it off and asked about the coming contest. She avoided the question on purpose, that much I can tell. Yet even after asking that she cut the conversation off as soon as Ash got close. So does that mean that they're trying to keep something a secret from me? Considering that I kept one from them it isn't all that surprising, but I don't like the way this one feels. I kept mine because it was my problem and they didn't need to worry themselves about it. Now I feel as though they are keeping one that is aimed directly at me. What makes it even worse is I can't help but think that even after we got back together Ash is being pulled away from me, and it's almost as if Dawn is doing this on purpose._

"_Why would she do that though? Or friendship may not be as good as the one we both have with Ash, but I never once got the impression that she disliked me. And for Ash to do it as well doesn't seem like him. The only other times that I've thought this way have been when Dawn keeps bringing up the idea of Ash as a boyfriend."_ It was then that something seemed to connect for the brunette. _"If she does like Ash could she be thinking that I might take him away from her? But it's not as though I actually like Ash like that, I just don't like the idea that she might be trying to pull us apart. Even if I was in her shoes I wouldn't want to ruin someone's friendship with my best friend."_

"Pikachu"

Looking down at the yellow Pokémon, May saw that he could tell she was worried about something. Pulling him closer into her arms, she gave him a reassuring smile and at the same time calming her thoughts somewhat. As she realized with Eevee, Pokémon are usually very in tune with what the humans they're close to are feeling and if she kept on feeling like this it would only worry him more.

"_Then again I'm probably thinking way too much into this."_ She concluded. _"I shouldn't doubt my friends like that and the idea that Dawn would actually try to steal Ash away from me is a bit much, even if I still don't like the fact that they're keeping secrets from me. I might just have to ask Eevee about it later, at the very least I can prove to myself that what they're keeping from me isn't about me. Still the idea that I can actually think that they would do something like that to me isn't the greatest feeling; it almost scares me that I came up with it. I wonder what's making me think like this."_

Rubbing the creature in her arms underneath his chin, she had to hold back a light laugh as she heard a satisfied coo in return and cuddled up into her chest.

"That's not something I should have to worry about anyways," May finally said aloud, even it was only enough for Pikachu to hear her. "I get to spend some more time with Ash and you so I shouldn't be complaining, right? Besides, the thought that he might actually wear clothes that I picked out for him is somewhat exciting. And with the contest starting tomorrow things will go right back to normal before we know it."

From her arms the Electric-Type knew exactly what she was worried about. Even if the brunette didn't notice it, she was holding onto his body far harder than what he would consider comfortable when Pikapi pulled Dawn aside. Thanks to his sensitive hearing he could make out pretty much their entire conversation all the way up to when Dawn came back and started talking to May, and during the entire time he tried to calm her down as best he could. But because of the two girls' voices right next to him after the blunette returned, he couldn't make out if his trainer said anything to Eevee. While he knew May couldn't hear what went on, she probably got the general idea of at least one of the people involved. Of course it didn't help that Pikapi was looking up at them every ten seconds, even he knew doing something like that would only draw suspicion. If Pikapi didn't want to tell her then that was his choice, but like his trainer he too didn't want to see May get hurt, either physically or mentally. And while he did think that it wasn't going to be as bad as Pikapi was thinking, he wasn't sure what would happen either if those words were brought out in the open. It could go either way, and the more he thought about it the more he worried too, even if he wasn't the one making the decision. Pulling himself back up to her shoulder, he gave the coordinator one more rub against her cheek to bring her back completely.

"You okay back there May?"

"Yep."

Quickening her pace slightly to catch up to him again, May decided to try and forget about some of those ideas that came to her head. Ash was the one person outside of her family whom she had put her unconditional trust in, and he wouldn't do something like that to her. If he wanted to keep a secret from her he had his reasons, and she would wait until he decided to finally share it.

"But I still don't understand why I need to get a new set of clothes," Ash complained as they continued on towards Viridian City.

"Because those are completely ruined," May informed him. "And if you want any chance of getting past the appeal rounds you need to be presentable. Are you sure that we have to go all the way to Viridian for a mall?"

"Yes May," he sighed. "Even if it has this rather large yearly contest, besides the hotels and restaurants to cater to the tournament, Auburn Town isn't much bigger then Pallet. So there isn't anything more than a few small stores that sell the basics. Of course I would have been fine with that, but if you're the one planning to pick out my clothes I know for a fact you would want a larger selection."

"You're right about that one Ash," the brunette said with a smile. "And while we're there we could get a bowtie for Pikachu, how does that sound?"

"Please keep Pikachu out of this. He doesn't need clothes."

"I think we should let him decide though." Looking over at the Pokémon perched on her shoulder; May could barely contain the hopeful tone of her voice. "What do you think Pikachu?"

"Pika pika," he told her while forming an X with his arms.

"And that would be a no," Ash chuckled.

"Spoilsport." As they continued to walk down the road, May was noticing more and more the limp that Ash still had from his left leg. To take her mind off of it, she decided to change topics. "So you said that you already had a strategy for the tournament right? Mind sharing it?"

"It's actually a rather simple one, and while it carries some risks it's probably one of the safest ways of going about it," he explained. "When you choose your six Pokémon to register you also have to figure out what round you want them in. Once you decide when you'll use them you can't change your mind. Even if your selection of Pokémon you bring with you for the doubles battle has a slight disadvantage from type, and let's say one of your other remaining Pokémon could offset that, you can't change your order. That way you won't have to worry about whether or not a changeup of your original plans would have made everything worse. Pick your Pokémon that will best suit each round, and for the doubles battle round make sure that your two Pokémon complement each other not only in cooperation but by covering the other's weaknesses."

"That seems almost too simple."

"Maybe, but I think that it's still the best way to go about it. That way you will have less regrets if things do go right. You can't start off too strong and use all of your strength early, just use only enough to get by in the first round. It doesn't matter if you came in first or forty-fifth, the top 50 will move on. For the second round make sure that you have two Pokémon that complement each other well but can give out a powerful offense or strategy. Third round is where you want to save your best performance, only the top two can proceed to the finals so that is when you need to truly shine and blow the competition out of the water. When you make it to the final round you have a lot more flexibility, both you and your opponent are down to your last Pokémon so you just have to hope for luck. Keep a strong battler who can stand up to his weakness if necessary but still work just fine by himself."

"I'm surprised that you were able to come up with this so quickly, but at the same time you almost make it sound too easy," May told him with a small, but more confident, smile on her face. "But you said 'when' you make it to the finals instead of if."

"What makes you think I made a mistake? I know what I said, and I'm not taking my words back."

"It's funny that you have such confidence in me, yet I barely have any for myself."

"You're a great coordinator May, you only had a small speed bump while in Johto. If anything it'll only make the people who saw you there drop their guard. You just have to go in and show them what you can really do. Prove to them that you are not a coordinator to be taken lightly. Prove to them that the grace of the 'Princess of Hoenn' is one worthy of the title. And most importantly, prove to yourself that you can overcome what's been put in front of you. Don't you guys agree?"

"Pika!"

"Vee!"

"Thanks Ash, and thanks to you too Pikachu and Eevee."

May couldn't help but blush at everything he said. Even after the horrible losses that she endured just weeks ago, he was talking to her as if she won the Grand Festival. The feeling was beyond what she remembered. While she still couldn't agree with Dawn that the loss of these talks were what brought around her failures, she couldn't deny that just listening to him was making her think that she really could do anything.

"So have you decided on which Pokémon you're going to use?" May asked as her nervousness began to diminish a little more.

"So far the only two that I have decided on is Pikachu and Pidgeot. Pikachu because how can I enter anything without him, and as for Pidgeot I want to see what he can do after all these years. As for my other four the only thing I know is that I probably won't be using my Sinnoh Pokémon. Part of the reason that I'm entering this tournament is to practice using my other Pokémon to help me prepare for Sinnoh. I'm not too worried about the second round or even the finals, and as long as I'm careful in the first round I should still be able to do well enough to pass. It's the third round that will be the hardest for me. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a coordinator so to be able to beat out that many people who are actually seasoned coordinators is not going to be easy."

"Then that's where I'll come in," May said with a confidence she hadn't felt in months. "We just need to figure out who will work best and go from there. If you are confident enough that I am able to make it to the finals, I'm going to make sure that you're right there with me."

"Guess it's my turn to be saying thanks," he told her with a sheepish smile.

Even with the conversation going as strongly as it was, May was starting to worry about Ash. Watching him nearly fall for the fourth time as he stepped down onto his left foot, she knew that it they would be lucky to be able to make it to Viridian without him hurting himself further.

Seeing the Pokéball on his belt, she knew what she had to do. Making a quick grab at the container, she caught Ash off guard and before he knew it the ball was already in her hands.

"May what are you planning to do with Pidgeot's Pokéball?" He asked as she expanded the sphere.

"Even as you say all those things to inspire me Ash, I feel as though it'll be all for nothing if I don't see you on the other side of the field at the finals. And at this rate you'll break your leg and have to forfeit your matches."

Tossing the ball up into the air, a flash of light emerged from it and collected into a large form standing next to them. Spreading his wings wide, Pidgeot gave off a loud cry before calming down and waiting expectantly next to the two trainers and their Pokémon.

May was still surprised at the size of Pidgeot, but she now knew that it was a lot like most of Ash's Pokémon, a fierce exterior but nothing but a big softie underneath.

As soon as she saw May grab the Pokéball, Eevee was already starting to shake at the thought of seeing that Bird Pokémon again. Diving back into Ash's sweatshirt, she only peaked out once everything calmed down. As her head made its way out of Ash's collar, Pidgeot's head reactively moved to look straight at her. Feeling the fur on her back start to stand on end, Eevee was just about to drop back down before the bird looked elsewhere, completely indifferent to her presence. Still nervous around the large Pokémon, especially when her gaze went down to its sharp talons, Eevee tried to calm herself down by explaining that it was one of Ash's Pokémon, and he would never let it hurt her in any way.

"Sorry to ask this of you Pidgeot after flying us all over earlier today, but do you think you have enough strength to fly us to Viridian City?" May asked the Pokémon. "You see your stubborn trainer is about to walk himself into breaking a leg, and I would rather not let that happen. So, could you do me this favor?"

"May you're over exaggerating," Ash tried to defend himself. "My leg isn't as bad as she thinks. Sure it hurts a little but it's nothing that's unbearable." Looking back at his Flying-Type, Ash continued. "Sorry about May letting you out like this Pidgeot, but you can just go back into your Pokéball and rest. I'll be perfectly fine."

Taking a scrutinizing glance at his trainer, Pidgeot turned away from them before lowering himself closer to the ground, allowing the two to climb on his back.

"Thanks Pidgeot. Come on Ash, hop on."

"You meet May only this morning and you're already listening to her over me?" Ash could barely believe his eyes, but with both Pidgeot and May against him he had little choice. "And here I thought you were the one who never disobeyed me."

"Now Ash, he's only doing what he thinks is best for you, you don't need to be harsh about it." Turning back to the Pokémon, the coordinator began stroking its neck. "He doesn't mean it; he's only trying to act tough."

Hearing a defiant grunt come from her companion, the brunette stifled a giggle at his response.

Helping the trainer up onto the bird's back, May wasn't far behind.

"Alright Pidgeot, do you know the way to the large mall in Viridian City?" May asked after she got herself situated behind Ash.

"Pidgeot," the bird nodded.

"Then that's our destination."

Spreading his wings, it was only moments before they took to the air. The sudden acceleration made May grab onto Ash but after they were up she once again loved the feeling while up there.

* * *

><p>With Pidgeot's help, it didn't take long for them to reach the city. Considering Ash's limp, it would have easily taken them several hours to walk it, but only a little under an hour while flying. Even Eevee enjoyed the flight there. Finally willing to look out of Ash's shirt as they flew, it was something beyond the small Pokémon's imagination.<p>

Landing right next to the front doors of the mall, May hopped off Pidgeot's back before helping Ash do the same.

"Thanks Pidgeot," she said to the Pokémon. "You can rest for a while now, although we'll probably need your help again getting back."

Retracting him back into his Pokéball, May miniaturized the device before slipping it into her pocket.

"Hey!" Ash called out as she began walking into the mall. "Why are you keeping Pidgeot? He is my Pokémon after all."

"Relax, I'm only keeping him for now," she responded. "Because I wouldn't doubt that you would try to hide it in an effort to prove that you aren't as injured as I know you are. Besides, you'll be too busy with your clothes that you shouldn't have to worry about it for a while."

"Fine." Sighing, Ash obediently followed the brunette into the store and to the men's section. "And May, while I'll allow you to help me choose some new clothes, please nothing too expensive. I don't have that much money with me right now."

Already searching through the racks, May didn't even turn to face him when she answered.

"Don't worry Ash, that won't be a problem because I'll be paying for everything we buy today."

"Wait, what? No, I'm not going to allow you to do that. You don't need to spend your money on things for me."

Even if he was objecting to her doing this, Ash could feel a part of him take pleasure in the thought of getting a gift from May. Even if it was only clothes.

"Sorry Ash, but you don't have a say in this," she informed him. "It's my fault that all of this happened so I have to be responsible for this. And you don't have to worry about money issues; I've saved up plenty from my wins in Hoenn and Kanto to cover my losses in Johto and enough to pay you back."

Knowing that arguing with the girl would only cause more problems, Ash could only sit back as she continued to move through the selection of clothes.

"Hmm, maybe this one? No. How about that one? Maybe. This one? Definitely not. Think he would like this one Pikachu?"

He could easily hear her mumbling as she moved throughout this section of the store. Not too loud, but loud enough that he could at least make out what she was saying.

"Does she always do this while shopping?" He asked Eevee as the coordinator continued her odd routine.

"Vee," she nodded.

Looking back, he could see her comparing two shirts that seemed a bit much to him, as one was covered in a mosaic of tropical patterns while the other was a light pink, but as she looked between the two, Ash noticed that she seemed very happy.

"_I never realized that she got this cheerful while shopping. Well, I knew she loved to do it, but this is more than even when I saw her last."_ Just watching her in that mood made him relax and forget about the slight annoyance he had earlier about babying him about his leg.

"You seem to be enjoying this," he spoke up as she moved on to the next rack. "I wouldn't be too surprised to see you like this if you were shopping for yourself, but why right now?"

"I'm not really sure myself." Turning back towards Ash, he could see the beaming smile she had on. "I just want you to wear the clothes that I picked out."

Blushing slightly at her comment, the trainer couldn't resist the contagious smile.

"_Now that is one face I wouldn't mind seeing every day. I could almost say that it's cute, but she's downright beautiful when she looks like that. How did I ever fall for a girl like this?"_

"Alright Ash, we need to head to the dressing rooms."

Noticing that she didn't have any clothes in her hands, Ash didn't entirely understand her request.

"Shouldn't you have something for me to try on before we head into there?" He asked as the brunette led him to the sectioned off rooms.

"I have a few ideas already but I need something first." Taking Eevee from the trainer, May motioned for him to enter one of the empty ones. "Alright, go in and then hand me your shirt and pants. You might as well give me your sweatshirt as well."

"Why do you need those?"

"I need your sizes."

"Can't I just tell you?"

"It's easier this way."

Shooing him into the room and closing the door, Ash didn't know what else to say. So moments later he was passing the pieces she wanted under the door.

"Thank you. Now just give me a minute or two, don't go anywhere."

"Yeah like you have to tell me that one," Ash muttered to himself after he heard her footsteps walk off. "Seeing as how you just stole my pants it's not like I would want to leave anyways."

After a few minutes, May returned and passed him some new clothes.

"Try these on," she instructed. "I think they should be a good fit."

Looking them over, Ash wasn't sure to make of his new clothes.

"Umm, May? Any reason for the change in style?"

"I thought that they would look good on you. Why, don't you like them?"

"It's not that… you know what, never mind. I'll be out in just a moment."

Giving them another once over, the trainer decided to just try them on.

Waiting outside with their two Pokémon, May could barely contain her excitement at seeing Ash come out with the clothes she picked out. When she heard the door finally open, not only her but Pikachu and Eevee, who were sitting on her shoulders, looked expectantly over to the dressing rooms.

Ash walked out feeling somewhat uncomfortable, this was unlike what he was used to wearing but he didn't dislike them. May had gotten a pair of casual loose fitting black jeans and brown belt along with a red t-shirt. To go over it there was a slightly oversized white long-sleeved button up shirt that Ash decided to leave open, mimicking the jacket he wore through Kanto and Johto. The sleeves came down just above his wrists and, knowing that he always had to have a set, May had chosen out a new pair of black fingerless gloves with red hem to go along with it.

"Simple but it goes together nicely. You look great!"

Walking up to Ash, May double checked over his final look.

"I think we just need a simple necklace or something like it and everything will be perfect."

"Oh come on May, I don't need that much."

"If we're going to buy you new clothes we have to make sure that you look great and not just good. Besides, you now look more like the champion that you are. I've even picked out a short-sleeved shirt that you can use once your arms heal up. But that's not the important thing; the important thing is do you like it?"

"You want me to be honest?" Ash asked her.

"Of course."

"Honestly, I don't feel as comfortable in these compared to my old clothes." Seeing May's mood fall fast, he made sure to get to his next point quickly. "But that's probably just because I'm not used to them yet. I don't hate them by any means, in fact I like the way they look. I'm almost completely sure that I would like them on a mannequin or something; it's just odd seeing them on myself. That being said though, I'm more than willing to get used to them."

"Really?"

"Yep. I wouldn't lie to you about things like this."

Even if it seemed like it couldn't, May's mood brightened up even further when Ash said that.

"I'm glad that you like them Ash. And I've already found a set of clothes similar enough to your old ones that you won't feel uncomfortable. Although I think we can wait on getting you a new hat."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Well if I'm choosing your new style, I think you look just fine without it. In fact with your hair like it is, it makes you look a little older and more handsome. Once again fitting of your new title."

"Thanks May." Glad to hear that from her of all people, Ash couldn't help but think that it might actually be time to retire the head piece for good. "Now we just need to find a pair of gym shorts and some t-shirt and that should be it."

Taking his original clothes back from the brunette, Ash began heading back to the dressing rooms.

"What do you need those for?"

"Sleeping," he told her without turning back around. "It wouldn't be all that comfortable to sleep in jeans, and considering I'm probably going to be sharing a room with you and Dawn I don't think it would be appropriate to wear anything less."

"Anything less? Oh yeah that's right, there's another thing that we need to buy for you. You still need some new boxers."

Ash froze as she said that.

"Um May that's okay," he said to her with a nervous laugh. "I can buy those; you don't have to worry…"

"While you're changing I'll go grab some along with the shorts and shirt. Be right back!"

Before Ash could say anything otherwise, she was already gone.

"_She must have gotten to the point of enjoying this so much I don't even think she knows what she's actually saying anymore."_ Scratching his head, the trainer had never seen this side of May before. Usually she would still be too embarrassed to say much about that subject, especially in public. There were even a few older couples grinning at the exchange between the two teens. _"She must really be enjoying herself for some reason. But how can I say no? She hasn't looked this happy ever since before we got back together, well maybe eating last night could come close I guess. There's something about this shopping trip that's keeping her in a good mood, and I for one don't want to steal that away from her. Besides, we'll need that for when we start practicing later this afternoon."_

Giving off an exasperated sigh, Ash just retreated into the dressing rooms to put his old clothes back on.

After changing back, it didn't take too long for May to wave him down over by the cash registers. Walking back over to her, it wasn't hard to notice what she picked out for him.

"_Three pairs, each with a different print on them; one with Eevee, one with Torchic, and the last with Pikachu. I usually go with something a bit more plain, but whatever. It's not like anyone will see them anyways."_

Without saying anything to her, Ash put the clothes he had on top of what she already had as the cashier started to ring everything up. It looked as though she had bought him a couple sets of each of the two that she picked out for him. He was just glad that the lady working this lane didn't say anything as she scanned everything. She must have just thought that was your typical teenage couple coming in for shopping.

Teenage couple. The idea made Ash crack a grin.

"_If only it were that simple. It's funny; I always thought that the hardest part of love was figuring it when you were in it. Now that I've finally realized it, I know that that was the easy part. I don't want to put pressure on her to say what she doesn't truly feel, nor do I want to change the great friendship that we already have. I thought that I had made my decision by not telling her, but thanks to Dawn I'm no longer sure of that decision. But seeing her like this, and knowing that I want to keep seeing that smile of hers day after day, I have to say that this can really only be love."_

Looking over at May as they exited the mall, it was the only thing that was really running through his head. Sure he knew that she would probably stay happy if he didn't say anything, but he wasn't nearly as sure if he would be as happy.

As May called Pidgeot back out, Ash was having a hard time focusing. Not only did he have a contest that May was expecting to see him in the finals of, but he also had the weight of deciding how to deal with his own feelings with Dawn no doubt adding in her two cents.

"_Why do I get the feeling these next few days are going to be a real headache?"_

* * *

><p>Not much to say so the next chapter will be up as usual. Thanks for reading.<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

Guess the last chapter wasn't as popular as some of the others. Oh well, the training for the contest starts this chapter and another old friend will be making his appearance. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, onto number seventeen.

* * *

><p>"It's a good thing that the first round for both of us isn't one of the early morning spots."<p>

"Yeah, 11:40 for me and 3:20 for you May. In fact you're near the end of the daily slots."

Ash and May were walking towards the hotel that Dawn had messaged them that they were saying in. It was only a little before four o'clock by the time they returned from shopping, and they were planning on using that time to get some practice in. After getting the Pokémon that they were planning on using, making sure to keep their choices a secret from each other, they registered them and checked on the times of when their first round was scheduled.

Even if she wasn't showing it, May felt like a large weight was off her shoulders. While getting her Pokémon she finally was able to ask Eevee about the discussion that Dawn and Ash had before they left and the Normal-Type confirmed for her that whatever they were talking it wasn't a secret about her. Unbeknownst to May though, Eevee made sure to keep her promise to Ash and she only answered the question that would help ease May's worries while not hinting as to what they were talking about.

"I just have to remember that I'm not in the main stadium but one of the temporary tents, Tent B," the brunette said while stepping through the hotel's front doors.

"Well it would be impossible to try and get everyone done in one day if they only had them going one at a time. If they went any shorter than the ten minutes per trainer it would probably cause more problems than solve them."

"Yeah I know, it wasn't as though I was complaining. I just need to make sure that I do remember. Then I just have to go over my performance for the first round to make sure that I don't make any mistakes tomorrow."

"One thing's for sure May; you seem to have your confidence back. Just yesterday you were worried about your problems following you back from Johto. Now you don't look to have a single concern going into the first round."

After hearing those words May stopped. Noticing this, Ash looked back at her; but with her head pointed down at that ground her hair was covering her face he couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"May?"

"I may look like I'm not worried, but believe me when I say every one of those thoughts is still running through my head," she said to him. Raising her head the trainer could see what looked to be a rather confident smile, but the stray tears that fell randomly from her eyes said otherwise. "I'm scared out of my wits right now. After everything you told me today I want to jump back in and prove myself, but I can't stop thinking what happens if I don't win?"

"Eevee."

Rubbing against her trainer's face, the small Pokémon tried to at least calm her down a little bit.

"If that's what you're worrying about then the answer is simple, if you don't win then you don't win," Ash told her.

"That's not very reassuring."

"Why not? Just because you don't win this time doesn't have anything to do with how well you do next time. You could do mediocre in one battle and your best ever in the next. Sure, you try to do your best every time you step out on stage, but sometimes it just doesn't turn out the way you would like. So you take what you learned to your next battle, and win that one instead." Putting his arm around May's shoulders, Ash gently pulled her in and gave her the most reassuring smile he could muster. "You're worrying too much about how well you do now when all you really need to worry about is how much fun you're having at that moment."

"You're always doing this," May muttered to herself, but still loud enough for Ash to hear. "And I'm glad. Glad to have you back doing just that."

Feeling the same warmth and protection that she felt while sleeping next to him last night May couldn't help but relax into his grasp. He had never really done anything like this while they were still traveling together yet the brunette felt as though this wasn't the first time she experienced this.

"Of course, it's because we're best friends. You just have a bad habit of getting down on yourself after you lose. But even though you should care more about having fun then winning, it doesn't mean that we won't aim for the top together. After I change my clothes we can start training."

"It looks like you two have gotten closer as of late."

Quickly withdrawing his arm from May's shoulder, Ash knew exactly who the voice came from. Seemingly waiting for them in the lobby of the hotel was Dawn and Piplup.

"It's not what it looks like Dawn," the trainer hastily said to her.

"Ash was just reassuring me for the upcoming tournament," May added in, feeling slightly annoyed at the blunette for some reason.

"I'm not saying he wasn't doing anything more, I just said that you two have gotten closer since we met up in Pallet." Getting up with her starter in her arms, Dawn walked over to the pair and their Pokémon. "Why, did you assume I meant something else?"

"What else could there be?"

Looking at Ash after he said that, Dawn could only grin at him. They both knew what the reference was supposed to be.

"I don't know, you were the ones to think otherwise." Seemingly putting it off for now, Dawn reached into her pack and pulled out a set of key cards. "Here are the keys to our room, number 413. Just don't get mad at me when you see it."

"And what do you mean by that?" Ash asked, already having an idea of what she was talking about.

"You'll see, it's nothing all that major but I get the feeling you're going to overreact."

Not saying anything else until they made it up to their room, Ash was the first to open the door. It was a nice room; there wasn't any doubt about that, plenty of space and a nice sized bathroom with an extra vanity area outside of it. It didn't take long for the trainer to realize what she was talking about.

"There's only one bed," he said while staring at the blunette out of the corner of his eye. "Didn't you ask for several?"

"This was all they had left, I didn't have a choice. We're lucky to even get a room the day before the tournament so you can't be too picky."

Which was more-or-less the truth, but as one of the four rooms left in the hotel she made sure to allow the group that was talking about needing more than one bed go in front of herself so she was 'stuck' with the single king.

"Why do I think I can guess the next words that are going to come out of your mouth," the trainer muttered while covering his face with his hand.

"And because you two are going to be in the tournament you'll need the more restful sleep, so you two can take the bed."

"_I knew it."_

"Dawn…"

"Now now, don't get worked up about it Ash. It's a king sized bed so there's more than enough room for the two of you. Do you have any objections May?"

"Not really." May was still looking at the bed, and sure enough it did have more than enough from for them to sleep without being directly on top of each other. "We should be fine."

Knowing that he was outvoted and if he said anything further it would draw suspicion, Ash declared defeat.

"Okay fine, if May doesn't have any problems with it then I won't say anything else. I'm going to change and then we can go start to practice."

Walking towards the bathroom with one of the shopping bags in hand, Ash looked over at his ever present partner.

"She did it again Buddy," he told him quietly before closing the bathroom door. "Oh well, that just means that we'll have to put more effort onto training to get my mind off of it. We only have so much time before the first round."

* * *

><p>After changing his clothes into the sweatshirt and jeans combo that May bought for him to look like his old set, Ash made sure to make a quick call to his mom now that he was presentable enough to make a few excuses. Borrowing the video phones near the front lobby, it didn't take long for her to pick up.<p>

"Hey Mom."

"Hi Ash, hi Pikachu, I was hoping that you would be calling soon. Everything went well getting there I assume?" Though as the older woman asked it, she could tell that at least something happened. "Ash, why are you not wearing your hat? And where did you get those clothes?"

"Yeah that was part of the reason that I'm calling," he admitted with a slight laugh to try and hide his worries about the call. "First is obviously that I made it here to Auburn Town safely. Second is that we had to take a detour. May and I kinda fell down the hill on that new road around Route 1, and while trying to make sure that she wasn't hurt too badly my clothes got ripped up as we slid down."

"Ash…if that's the hill I'm thinking of…"

"Don't worry Mom," he quickly interjected, knowing exactly what she was getting to. "We weren't too far up the hill so it wasn't that far and it was primarily the branches that tore them up. I got a few small scratches here and there in the end but it wasn't anything major. Though in the process I did lose my hat and backpack."

Eyeing him over a few times, Ash was wondering if his little lie would get past her. He already had May watching over him in place of his mother, he didn't need the real thing doing it too. Either he succeeded or she decided to let it slide for now, but it was obvious that she wasn't happy.

"Okay, well the important thing is that you're safe. How is May feeling after that?"

"She's doing just fine Mom," he reassured her. "I was the one who got torn up, she barely had a scratch on her."

"Although I'm sorry that it happened, it's good to hear that she didn't get hurt. You did exactly what a gentleman should have done for a lady." Softening her expression a bit as she seemed to relax, looking back at her son Delia took a more scrutinizing glance at his new clothes. "So you bought them to replace your other ones then? Even if it's essentially what I made for you before, I'm surprised that you were able to pick out something that even matches."

"Actually it was May who picked these out," Ash corrected, with the embarrassment very evident on his face from his mom continuing to think he couldn't take care of himself. "She felt bad for me ruining my other clothes so she picked these out and bought them for me, even if I told her she didn't need to worry about it."

It was then the embarrassment turned into a look of concern as Delia's face put on a rather familiar appearance to one that he had been seeing for a few days now.

"I'm surprised Ash, normally you would never let someone outside of myself make that kind of decision for you. Did something happen between you two in the last couple days?"

"No, why?"

The trainer already didn't like where this was heading.

"No reason," the older woman answered with a big smile. "But it's nice to know that you found someone to take care of you. Is May there with you right now?"

"I'm right here Mrs. Ketchum," May spoke up as she came into the camera's view.

"Glad to see you're safe May, and Eevee too. I just wanted to say that he can be a little hard to deal with at times, but I feel better knowing that he should be fine as long as you continue to look after him."

"Um, thanks?" The brunette was a little confused by her words, but didn't think too much into them. From the way it sounded, the older woman was simply talking about his clothes, and combined with the previous knowledge that Delia never trusted Ash when it came to them May had no real reason to consider anything else. "Even if it's usually the other way around I'll always try to help wherever I can."

"Okay Mom," Ash said, bringing the conversation off of May as he really didn't like the way that it was headed. Dawn was one thing; his mom on the other hand could be a little more overt with her intentions once she got an idea in her head. The worst part was that whenever she did it she seemed completely oblivious to her son's reaction to her saying it out loud, which of course was never anything short of complete embarrassment. "We have a lot of things we need to do today so I think I'm going to have to cut you short. I'll call you again after the tournament."

"Very well, good luck to all of you. I'll talk to you in a few days Ash, I love you."

"I love you too Mom."

Turning off the phone, Ash looked back at his two traveling companions.

"Well, how about we start that training?" He said with a renewed effort to change the conversation.

"Sure Ash. The round starts tomorrow so we'll need everything we can get."

Heading out of the front doors, Dawn stayed back with Ash long enough to make one comment.

"Continue to look after him huh?" She giggled. "Looks like my mom isn't the only one trying to get you together with someone. Good thing it seems that May somehow missed the true meaning behind that line."

Before he could respond, Dawn was already taking the last couple steps to get next to May.

"_Sheesh, Mom seems almost as good as Dawn when it comes to noticing things,"_ Ash thought as they walked. _"All I had to mention was me protecting May on the way down the hill and her buying me the clothes and she already had that same glint in her eyes that Dawn had a few days ago. To make it worse, not only did she have to mention her long term thoughts on the situation, she even asked if something between me and her changed in the last couple days, right in front of May!"_ Silently groaning as he remembered what her face showed, the trainer could tell that his mom already had her suspicions. _"But for some reason it didn't seem like she was too surprised about the fact. Don't tell me that she too was assuming that this would happen?"_

Looking over at the two girls with him, Ash could only wonder what else would come off of all of this. He didn't want to ruin their friendship or her career as a coordinator and he still stood by his decision to not tell her, but the fact that it seemed other people were almost expecting it, now including his mother as well, to move in that direction slowly painted in his mind that it might not be too bad to actually confess knowing that nobody would be against them being together. Even if he knew that it technically was only a form of peer pressure.

"_If things actually do advance that far at least I probably don't have to worry too much about the one real fear most new boyfriends have to worry about, the girl's father." _Shuddering slightly at the thought of having to reveal that to Norman if it was the opposite, that was one thing he was at least happy about after figuring out it was May he liked. _"He always was just as supportive of me as May is and gave me his complete trust in taking care of not only her but Max as well. Now that I think about it, I think Caroline had on some of those looks that Dawn and my mom used. I swear it's almost as if everyone was plotting to set me up with May before I even knew what love was. I know it's virtually impossible but did Dawn somehow plan this out as well?"_

* * *

><p>"So those are the clothes that May picked out huh?" Dawn said as she took a closer look at what Ash was wearing after a few minutes of walking. "Not bad, but they look real close to the ones you had on in Hoenn. A sleeveless blue sweatshirt with a white hood and blue jeans, but a different league design on the sweatshirt and a long-sleeve shirt instead. Covering up his scabs I assume, May?"<p>

"That was my intention at least," the brunette responded.

"Any reason you chose those particular ones?"

"I thought he looks good in them, do I need a better reason? Besides, it brings back good memories seeing him in those."

"And there's the ulterior motive," Dawn said with a large grin.

"What do you mean by ulterior motive?"

"Oh nothing."

"That's enough Dawn," Ash interjected, not liking where she was taking the conversation. "Ah, this looks place looks good. Hopefully we can find a nice spot somewhere in these woods."

It took a little while but they found a simple clearing near a stream.

"May, would you mind if we start with some contest tips?" Ash asked. "As I said earlier, my biggest weakness will be round three so it would be nice to start with that, not to mention it will do some general help with tomorrow's first round too."

"Sounds good to me." Grabbing a Pokéball from her bag, May realized something. "If we're going to practice with each other that means we'll have to show who we're using in the tournament."

"I think our appeals' round Pokémon shouldn't make or break anything. It's the two battle rounds that we should keep secret still, just in case we go up against each other in one of those two rounds it might matter a little more." Pulling out a Pokéball of his own, Ash was hoping that this old guy wouldn't disappoint. "I chose this one because he seemed to take an interest in one of your more potent battlers. Not to mention I thought that bringing him here and teaching a little about contests would help lighten his mood a little."

Opening up the Pokéball in his hand, it didn't take long for the small Pokémon to appear.

"Bulba?"

Looking from side to side, the Kanto starter expected to see a battlefield after being brought back to Ash's active team, but instead found himself standing in the middle of nowhere. He didn't feel like he needed any additional training, so why was he out here. Casting an accusing glare at his trainer, the Grass-Type demanded an answer.

"Sorry Bulbasaur, I know that you probably aren't going to be jumping for joy about this but you should at least find it interesting," Ash tried to explain to his Grass-Type. "It's something new and will prove to be a good challenge. And I know you aren't one to turn down a challenge now, are you?"

"Bulbasaur."

Grinning about as large as his face would allow, the idea of a new challenge was enough to get him interested.

"Bulbasaur huh?" Dawn couldn't help but remember some of the things that Ash had told her about his little Pokémon. "I wonder if he knows exactly what he's getting himself into," she said quietly while stifling a giggle.

After seeing the Seed Pokémon appear, Pikachu jumped down next to him. Although nobody could really understand the conversation they were having, the two creatures seemed to have a few things to say to each other, but most of it seemed to be in a happy mood now that three of Ash's original six were back on his active team. Bulbasaur looked surprised at one point as the Electric-Type mentioned that little fact to him.

"It's funny that you chose him of all your Pokémon Ash," May commented after their dialogue died down a bit. Holding up her own Pokéball that she took out, the brunette was rather happy for some reason. "Because this was my choice for the third round."

Tossing it into the air it too burst open in a flash of red and in a repeat of what happened only a couple days ago came about. Dropping down the last few inches, the large Grass-Type looked down on its smaller cousin and the Pikachu next to him.

"Saur." Its deep bellowing voice reverberated across the clearing.

May's Venusaur was once again an impressive sight to see, easily dwarfing the four other Pokémon there. And once again Ash's Bulbasaur took a step back, but this time he quickly recognized her fully evolved form.

"Bulbasaur."

Extending his vine, he lightly rubbed it across the top of Venusaur's head as a greeting, though it was just as much for his own reassurance that it really was her. The face the giant put on betrayed its intimidating presence. She looked so content and happy with that simple action. Lying down the Seed Pokémon gave of a content sigh as Bulbasaur continued to pet the Pokémon. Yet to Bulbasaur he had a hard time seeing her as the Venusaur she is and not the Bulbasaur she was, which was something he never expected.

He saw many evolutions in his time, and his fear of his fully evolved form was never from the Venusaur itself, it was the idea of evolution that really scared him. It was like how some humans feared death, he knew himself well by this point and it was the unknown of what happens after he evolves that kept him resisting it. Many of the Pokémon he saw evolve were changed forever, and not just in their form but personality as well. Charizard was the most prime example of this, as a Charmander it was playful and loyal but as he evolved it became almost the exact opposite. But looking at the Venusaur in front of him, with the exception of how she appeared physically, she was exactly like the Bulbasaur he remembered.

"They really are good friends aren't they?" Dawn asked as she watched the Venusaur get virtually subdued by the much smaller Bulbasaur.

"They always have been," May confirmed. "Ever since they first met back in Hoenn they've been the best of friends. And after I got to Pallet Town for the first time they looked to be so inseparable I left her there for nearly a year to stay with Ash's Bulbasaur."

"I figured that you would be using your Venusaur somewhere in this tournament," Ash said as he watched the same sight. "And I also figured that she would be the best teacher to show Bulbasaur the ropes of contests. Although I can't say that I guessed you would be using her for the singles appeal round as well."

"So in that case, let's start the training. Are you ready to help out Bulbasaur, Venusaur?"

"Saur!"

Standing up from the petting it was receiving from the smaller Pokémon, Venusaur took up a position next to her trainer.

While Ash and Bulbasaur got close enough to be able to see what May would be teaching them, Pikachu decided that it was best to watch from the sidelines for now. His job this time around wasn't going to be in the appeal's ring so he didn't want to interfere with their training. Walking over to where Dawn was sitting with her egg in her lap and Piplup right next to it, the electric mouse made himself comfortable in the grass next to her.

Watching intently as Pikachu moved off the field, Eevee wasn't too far behind. After taking one more look at her trainer, who appeared to be more focused on the two Grass-Types, she decided that it would be best to follow his lead. Jumping down from her shoulder, Eevee cautiously walked up to where Pikachu was lying down. Looking at him once again made that strange feeling come back to her, but she remembered the short conversation she had with Ash in that he stated Pikachu had taken a liking to her. Sure he didn't seem to show it very often, but that might have been because her shyness as of late didn't allow him to be able to do it.

Eevee could watch as Pikachu's eyes followed her as she got closer. Without too much of a question she laid down next to him, not as close as she would have liked but it was enough that it satisfied her for now. The best part about it was that Pikachu was reacting positively to her advances. He didn't give any sign that he didn't want her there and, while it may have been her imagination, he even moved ever so slightly closer to her.

"Alright Bulbasaur you just need to listen to May for a little while. She'll tell you everything you need to know about what your next battle will entail," Ash said to his Pokémon. "You're going to be taking over the most important position in this tournament for me, the lynch pin for all the battles, so listen carefully. I know that you can do this, and I'm putting my faith in the fact that you never want to be second best."

"Bulba," it nodded, liking the fact that even though it has to learn something new it was essentially taking over the number one spot on Ash's team.

"To start off Bulbasaur, contests aren't exactly the same as the battles you're used to," May started as the lessons began. "Your attacks don't need nearly as much power in them compared to the amount of control, and you need to use that control to create a visually pleasing presentation. This is because your 'battle' is based on points coming from the judges, the better the use of your attacks the more points you get. Venusaur let's give them a small example, Petal Dance into a Razor Leaf please."

Nodding once, the large Pokémon shot a quick burst of pink petals into the air and instantly after began to slice them up with a massive Razor Leaf attack. In moments the petals were chopped up and falling to the ground as pink confetti around the area.

"See? Under most situations those would have been really bad to use as actual attacks but when use them like this it creates something that the judges would love to see. Now I know you can't use Petal Dance, so let's just use Venusaur's as a bit of practice. You ready?" Waiting for a nod from both Pokémon, May continued. "Alright go."

Firing off the pink petals again, Venusaur prepared the field for Bulbasaur. Even though he didn't understand why Pokémon would do things like this instead of simply battling he fired off his Razor Leaf attack. The attack hit exactly as he wanted, but his leaves seemed to have more difficulty cutting through the flower petals than Venusaur's did. So instead of the neatly sliced confetti that it was like before, the petals came down in many different sizes, with the most prevalent being odd shaped strips.

"Not exactly Bulbasaur," May told him. "While that wouldn't have been horrible, the fact that you can see how uneven they're cut would mean that you would get fewer points." In actuality she knew that would have barely gotten past a city's appeal, in the Grand Festival or like what they were going to be in it wouldn't be nearly enough. But she was trying to stay positive as to not push him too fast. "Let's try that again."

They tried the same thing several more times, and while he did get better at his aim, Bulbasaur still just couldn't get the power needed to make them slice like he wanted.

"Alright let's try something else."

Seeing that the small Pokémon was starting to get frustrated, May didn't want to overdo his first introduction into contests.

"Okay in that case let's see if we can't get a few different ideas down. How about we try grace and agility? The usual appeal round can be broken down into three parts, the entrance, rising to the climax, and lastly the finale. What we were just practicing was for the last two parts, for your entrance you'll need to be able to do flips or things like it."

Spending most of their remaining time trying to finally get everything down, Bulbasaur started to get the hand of it. And while he didn't necessarily like the idea of doing those flips and spins as part of a battle, he wasn't too bad at them. It was some of the other pieces that were really starting to get on his nerves. Once they started to get into what Ash was thinking for his appeal round he could really feel his inadequacies.

"Once more Bulbasaur," Ash said to him. "Extend your vines up into the air and launch a Sleep Powder up into them, then use your vines to make it spin."

Doing exactly what his trainer ordered, the blue sparkling powder rose up into the air as his vines spiraled up right behind it in shape of a double helix. Unwinding them as fast as he could, he tried to recreate the scene that Venusaur demonstrated for him just moments ago. And just like the last few times the speed of his vines just wasn't enough to create the vortex of air he saw.

"Still not enough." Noticing that Bulbasaur was taking it even harder than he was at that moment, Ash felt bad for the small Pokémon. "Don't worry Bulbasaur, we can try something else."

"Bulba!"

Shaking his head violently no, Bulbasaur was too stubborn to change it. He was given a challenge and he would be damned if he would change it just because he couldn't do it as well as another Pokémon. He just needed more speed and power with his vines.

"Don't overdo it Bulbasaur, I want to win but we need to be able to do something that you can do."

Growling at his trainer, he tried repeating the maneuver once more. And much to his continued annoyance he still couldn't get it right, for the exact same reason he was having before. No matter how many times he tried, it always came out the same way.

"I don't know what to say anymore," Ash said as everyone just watched Bulbasaur repeat the performance over and over again. "I knew that it wouldn't be easy to get him into contests but his stubbornness to not accept defeat is almost too much right now."

"He'll get it eventually Ash," May reassured him in a softer voice as to not let the Seed Pokémon hear. "Though we might have to change the routine a little to something that he can handle. At the moment it might be good enough to get you through one of the city qualification contests, but to win something like this you'll need more."

After yet another failed attempt, Bulbasaur knew that he wouldn't be able to get this as he was, or at least by the day after tomorrow. Even if May was trying to keep it from him, hearing the other humans also say that about his performance didn't help his thoughts either. If there was one thing he hated more than losing it was being underestimated. Looking once more at Venusaur, who was off to the side while he practiced, Bulbasaur knew that if he did this there would be no turning back. At his current rate though, he won't be able to not only live up to his trainer's expectations but his own as well. He was going to win this, no matter the cost, even if it meant facing his greatest fear. Relaxing his body, he finally gave into something that he had been holding back for over five years.

"Bulbasaur?"

As Ash looked on, the bulb on the Kanto starter's back began to glow a light green and before long his body began glowing the same color. In moments, Bulbasaur's body began to grow and the leaves on its bulb opened up revealing a folded up pink flower. By the time the glow disappeared, it was very obvious what had just taken place.

"Ivysaur."

The newly evolved Pokémon stood before the trainers and other Pokémon present. Before they even said anything Ivysaur launched a Sleep Powder into the air along with his vines. Even by just extending them, he could feel the newfound power that his now thicker vines gave. Throwing them up he formed the same double helix spiral he had done before, but this time he knew that it wouldn't end the same.

Once everything was in position, he unwound his vines as fast as they would allow. Spinning outward in an increasing arc, the vortex of air created by the speeding attack formed the powder into tornado of blue sparkles. Exactly the performance he was trying to create for the last several hours, although he still felt he could get it to go faster.

"That was perfect!" May could barely believe her eyes, after coming nowhere close to what they were hoping for so long, Bulbasaur was able to do it with virtually no mistake. Dawn, Piplup, and Eevee were also quite impressed at the sudden reversal, the former two started to clap instantly after its execution.

For Ash and Pikachu on the other hand, there was something on their mind more than him successfully pulling off the attack.

"Bulba…I mean, Ivysaur. You…evolved." Ash was barely able to get the words out of his mouth. He had accepted long ago that Bulbasaur would probably never evolve, and after watching it resist his evolution he never brought it up again. After everything his Bulbasaur did to keep itself from evolving, it finally chose to do so now for some reason.

"Ivy," it nodded.

Looking over its new body, Ivysaur could feel at least some of his fears start to die down. He didn't feel any different mentally but he couldn't deny that the added power in his vines alone was an enjoyable feeling.

"Alright May, I think that we should change gears for a moment," Ash suggested as the fact Ivysaur actually evolved started to really sink in. "Now that he has the basics down, we can start on general battle strategies for you. You don't have to use someone that you're planning on using in a battle round; the idea is more so that you can get a better plan as to what you need to do once you're actually in the ring. We'll start with a single battle and move onto doubles."

"Ivy!"

Stepping in front of Ash, Ivysaur wanted to test itself out in an actual battle. Sure he evolved to master this contest thing, but his heart still lay in the battle arena. And if his vines felt that good doing something useless like that, they would feel even better fulfilling what he saw as their true purpose.

"You read my mind Ivysaur." Looking back at May, Ash waited for her response.

"Sounds good to me Ash, Ivysaur got that down so I don't see any reason to not allow him to do what he wants for a little while. But I'm not going to let it be an easy match for him either." Grabbing another Pokéball, the brunette confidently tossed into the air, and with the usual flash of red gave way to a tall humanoid shape with feathers coming off the back of its head that were vaguely reminiscent of its trainer's hair. Armed with claws on both its fists and powerful legs, the avian looking Pokémon was May's starter, Blaziken.

"Blaze!"

Giving off a loud call, fire instantly sprouted from its wrists while the rest of its body took on a basic battle stance.

"There ya go Ivysaur," Ash commented as the Hoenn Fire-Type took shape and the smile on his Pokémon's face grew at the sight. "This should be a good test of your new power."

"Ivy."

"Shall we begin?"

* * *

><p>Well I know evolving him of all Pokémon could make some people question it, but I doubt many truly object. With the way I've painted his reason for not evolving I figured that it was suitable enough to say that he found part of his reason. Hope you enjoyed it, next chapter will be up at its usual time.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18

Not much to say about the last chapter as usual except thanks to those who reviewed. But this chapter officially marks this fic as my first one to break 100k words. Definitely a bit of an achievement for me because at one point I was worried if it would even make 50k. On that note though, onto number 18.

* * *

><p>It was well after sunset when the group started to head back, trying to make the most out of the time they had left before the rounds started. Everyone was in a good mood after everything they accomplished, well almost everyone.<p>

"I still don't know what you did to make Eevee do that to you Pikachu," Ash said to his partner sitting on his shoulder, whose fur was still rather damp. "I thought that you two had made up by now."

Looking over at the Normal-Type, she still had a large satisfied smile on her face. After seeing her get up to get a drink from the stream that they were next to, Pikachu figured that it wasn't that bad of an idea to quench his thirst as well. Pikapi and May were still going at the battle, with Ivysaur putting up a worthwhile fight against a fully evolved Pokémon he had a type disadvantage against, so there wasn't much else to do. Walking up next to her and lowering his head to the water, he noticed her finish up and start to walk back to their original spot. Thinking nothing of it, he continued drinking the fresh cold liquid. Before he knew what was happening, a sudden push from his hindquarters made him go head first into the stream. Quickly coming up to the surface, all he found was her laughing and everyone either staring in slight shock or getting ready to laugh themselves.

"Pika." Turning his face away from everyone, Pikachu was embarrassed more than mad. He knew exactly what it was about too, even without Eevee's 'nice fur' comment right after, mimicking his own remark to her earlier that day. What made it even worse was that they didn't have a towel to dry him off with afterwards, and with the temperature already dropping, Pikapi had to use his new sweatshirt to dry him off.

"Don't want to talk about it, huh Buddy?"

Not hearing an answer, Ash decided not to bring it back up until he was actually ready to talk about it. Besides, they were getting close to their destination anyways.

"You sure that you didn't want any help with your first round Ash?" May asked as they headed into the hotel. "The entire time we spent for coordinating was focused on Ivysaur."

"Don't worry May, Ivysaur wasn't the only one who got taught this afternoon. I already know what I want to do for that round as well, so I'll spend some of the time I have before my round tomorrow perfecting it with my two choices. I just wish that we had a little more time to help you with your battling, although you didn't seem to be doing too bad from what I could see."

"Thanks Ash, but the thing I hope most for is that I'm actually ready for the upcoming contest. Unlike when you first brought up the idea to come here I feel confident that I should do well, but some shock training like this can only do so much to improve my skills."

"I can say that same thing," Ash joked as the trio and their Pokémon walked through the hotel's front doors. "So now that we're back, what do you guys want to do for food? I've been starving for the last couple hours."

"Do they have a cafeteria?"

"How about we just order room service?" Dawn suggested. "There's supposed to be a discount given to participants of the tournament, not sure how much but it's better than nothing, and we get to eat in our room."

"Fine by me, but I'm probably going to bed right after." Giving off a big yawn, Ash was actually surprised at how tired he was. "After everything today I'm ready for a good long sleep."

"I probably won't be too far behind," May added with a yawn of her own. As they entered the elevator to head up to their room, the brunette couldn't help but worry again about Ash's limp. "You probably shouldn't have been on your feet the entire time while we were training; your leg isn't going to heal as fast."

"Don't worry too much May, I'm a fast healer and this isn't too bad."

"Saying that will only make me worry more."

"Yes Mother," Ash groaned as he opened the door to their room.

"Please don't call me that, I'm only looking out for your health."

"Okay then, how about the other nickname you actually did say that I could call you?"

"Please, not that either." But as hard as she tried, May couldn't keep the blush from spreading across her face.

"And what nickname would that be?"

Suddenly remembering that Dawn was with them, May was quick to try and cover it up.

"Oh it's nothing," she told the blunette in as normal a voice she could manage. Too bad the nervous laughter wasn't helping her argument. "I was still half-asleep and said something weird and embarrassing. And I don't want Ash to say anything else about it, got it?"

Easily catching the warning, the trainer could only try to stifle his laughter.

"Yes May."

Even if it was only from the awkwardness of the situation, May still growled softly at him. She was embarrassed enough when it Ash was saying it to her when they were alone, to have Dawn hear it as well would have been too much. Besides, although she still didn't understand it the coordinator was still unsure if she should tell everything to the girl, thinking that it would revive her talks about love. Seeing Dawn start to grow that mischievous smile of hers, May calmly walked over to the phone in an effort to change the subject.

"Alright then, what do you guys want to eat?"

* * *

><p>After the food came and went, Ash had headed into the bathroom to prepare for bed. This time though he wanted to take a long warm bath to just soak in. Wanting to also clean his partner up a bit, he brought Pikachu in with him to do just that as well as to warm him up after that unexpected dip in the stream.<p>

"Chu."

"Oh relax Pikachu, it can't be that bad. Besides after rolling down that hill and spending the night outside like that you needed to get cleaned up anyways. I'm sure that Eevee will get the same treatment later. Just make sure that you don't accidentally shock me."

Currently scrubbing some of his fur with shampoo, Ash was also looking over his body for any injuries. Considering the Pokémon didn't seem bothered by anything he wasn't too worried and didn't want to make a scene. Now that they were alone he could get a better look without embarrassing the mouse. To his relief the few new ones he noticed were barely even worth mentioning and the one he got from Drapion several days ago was virtually gone. Not that that was over he went back to cleaning, because even after going into the stream though his fur was still rather dirty. While the Electric-Type usually kept himself rather clean, Ash could feel the dirt and grit deeper in his fur whenever he pet him. The good thing was that the only thing Pikachu disliked about baths was his worry about shocking Ash in the process.

"Not to mention that I think Eevee will like it more if you are actually clean," the trainer teased while rinsing the last of the shampoo out.

"Pikachu Pikapi."

"Sorry but I knew that you wanted to get closer to her even before I knew how I felt about May. As I told Eevee, while I'm still not sure if I'm going to tell her how I feel I don't want to get in the way of you two if I can."

"Pi?"

Looking back up at his trainer, he could see that that boy had a smile on his face as the Pokémon was wondering not only if he heard that correctly but the implications behind it too.

"I have to admit that you shouldn't look too into it Buddy but as you noticed while you two were alone she is trying to get closer to you she just seems a little nervous or has something else running through her mind at the same time. Either way I wish you the best of luck. I already know that she be quite the caring but you need to watch out for that mischievous side she's been showing as of late. But I don't think I need to tell you about that one," he finished off with a light chuckle. "At least that means that she can joke and play pranks on you without worrying about your reaction too much."

"Pikachu."

"So are you willing to tell me why she did that, or do you still want to wait?"

Sitting in the warm water, Pikachu decided that it wasn't too bad of an idea to finally tell his trainer exactly what happened while they were apart. And with the deep cleaning that his trainer was doing to his fur he felt rather relaxed while explaining most of what happened in detail.

"Wow, and here I thought May and I went through a good amount," Ash said after Pikachu recounted everything that happened. "Although that does explain Eevee's nervousness around Pidgeot and his pre-evolutions. I'm wondering if we should tell May about that." Seeing his Pokémon shudder slightly at remembering what happened, Ash decided it might be best to keep his nose out of it. "Alright, I'll leave that up to her to decide. But either way I'll be caught in the middle because I'll have to translate so I'm counting on you to help her until then. Although I don't think that I would enjoy having to bring that up when she finally is ready. 'Oh yeah, and by the way, because of use being separated from our Pokémon, which you already blame yourself for, Eevee was nearly killed and eaten by a Pidgeotto.' I can really see that conversation going well," adding in that last bit of sarcasm neither him nor Pikachu were all that enthused at the idea. "Other than that it seemed you two had a good time at least, and I can see now why she decided to get back at you for her wake up call. You're not mad at her, are you?"

"Pika," he shook his head no.

"That's good to hear. The last thing she'll need is to think that you're mad at her for something like that, even if in her mind you probably deserved it. I'll also make sure to buy a bag of Oran Berries to use as a treat for Eevee later too. If she likes them as much as you say I doubt she'll turn them down."

Starting to work on his own body, Ash's mind shifted gears and was running a mile a minute as he tried to get everything that he needed for the coming days figured out. Appeal combos, attack combos, possible problems with the tournament, May's mood and worries, his own problems with his feelings towards May; of which were only some of the things he was trying to pull together. But he still smiled as his thoughts raced along.

"It feels like we're going into another conference Pikachu with everything that could go wrong or how I need to get past these rounds," he finally said. "But this one is a bit different. With Pidgeot and Bulbasaur back, or Ivysaur now I guess, we're building the old team back up. Sure we could call on Charizard to come down but his time would be better spent in the Charicific Valley, Squirtle is probably too busy to come up as well, and I still wish I knew where Butterfree is now. If we had the whole team together again I would probably feel as though we were invincible."

"Pikachu," the small Pokémon agreed.

"Besides the fact that I want to kinda explore how I feel about May a little more in these coming days, the fact that we've even recreated half of our original six onto a more permanent roster is invigorating beyond belief. That being said I'm surprised that Ivysaur decided to finally evolve. I can get a good reason why with as stubborn as he is, but I still didn't think that he would actually go that far. We're only going to have to work extra hard to make sure that his own efforts won't be put to waste." All the thoughts about getting his original team back together made Ash smile at thinking how much even he's changed over the years from the short sighted, incorrigible youth to the reigning Lilly of the Valley Conference champion who would be going up against the regional Elite Four in an official battle. "You know what Pikachu, I've decided. No matter what else comes before or after it, before I leave for Sinnoh again we're going to get Charizard and Squirtle back for a little while so that everyone can see how the other has grown and we'll see if they want to come back for good too. Charizard probably won't be too easy to convince but I think we have a good possibility with Squirtle. Although I think at the moment Ivysaur and Pidgeot will be the ones who will be the center of attention among you five."

Sitting back in the tub with the reminiscing clearing his head, Ash relaxed as the warm bath water soothed his cuts and bruises. While he would only admit it to himself, they still did hurt quite a bit but it was nothing that he felt he couldn't handle. The trainer just didn't want May to worry too much considering he knew she felt as though it was all her fault. Although with all that happened because of it, while it may have been her fault he would never consider it as a bad thing. Because of what happened as a result of that he was able to finally come up with the answers he needed that were nagging him for several days. Just thinking about it brought back May's smiling face into his head.

"I don't know if it was fate or something else Pikachu, but I really am lucky to have met May. Even the with the fact of how I currently feel out of the picture, I could never have asked for a better best friend."

"Chu," the Electric-Type declared defensively.

"Oh you know what I mean. You don't have to worry about that one, like May is at the moment, you're in a category all to your own and nobody could ever take your spot. No matter what happens with her, as long as you continue to wish for it, we'll be together as partners and friends. Everything that I've imagined that might happen to me included you in one form or another. But for May, knowing that there was another person who was actually depending on me and looking up to me as a role model drove me to do even better. And while I may not have helped her choose the path of a Pokémon Coordinator, I did the best I could to make sure that she could follow her dream like I was able to. It also gave me a different view on things so it was a bit of an eye-opener for me too. Even while juggling her own practices into my own I was able to do respectable in the Ever Grande Conference so it shows that I was able to do more in that one year then the last few.

"But as for her she really is someone to admire. Sure she has a couple faults like getting down on herself too quickly and slightly clumsy, I'm hard pressed to think of a girl who was more determined to improve. And not only in the contest ring but also the relationship with her Pokémon, if you look at her now it's virtually impossible to imagine that she originally wanted barely anything to do with them. She's funny and kind to everyone she meets and puts a lot of faith in her friends. As if icing on the cake she goes from cute to downright beautiful without even the slightest imperfection. When you consider that I'm nothing more than an average looking guy lacking the most basic of fashion sense it's almost a miracle that she is my friend, and that's not even starting to take into account if by some stroke of luck she actually feels the same way I do. From most people's views she would probably be too good for someone like me."

"Pikachu," the Mouse Pokémon protested. While he wouldn't admit it too much, the only reason that he was caring about some of the specifics of Pikapi's conversation was because it mattered to Pikapi. He didn't look at May like that so it was only natural. But he wasn't one to let his trainer start to worry about something as minor as that. "Pikapi Pikachu chu chu pika chu."

"Thanks Pikachu, I guess being just as kind does help. And while you may say that I'm not as average as I think, it still doesn't change how I look at her. When I opened my eyes after falling I couldn't see clearly but I seriously thought that I was looking up at an angel and ever since then it's the only thing I can really compare her to."

"Pikachu chu Pikapi. Pikachu pika pika."

"You're right Buddy; I can't be thinking like this. I need to keep going forward to make sure that May get's her confidence back. That's the important thing right now. It's ironic though, I'm putting up a strong front to help May get her confidence back but just now I wondered if part of the reason I don't want to tell her how I feel is that I don't have confidence in myself over that matter."

"Chu."

Running a very small electric current through the water in the bath, Ash was far more surprised at it then it hurt but it still made him tense up a little as the current flowed through him.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop," he conceded. "I was just saying what came to my head, and that was something that came up. I know my real reasons for not wanting to tell her but for that moment I felt as though that nervousness might be only amplifying those thoughts." Seeing the content smile of his Pokémon at the concession, Ash sighed as that possible realization came to mind. "And here I thought that I was confident in my ability to tell her if the time ever came. I have enough to worry about outside of this love issue, but thanks to Dawn I'm still nowhere near answering it. The first round is tomorrow and this is probably going to be the most important round for May to see if she has her own confidence back."

"Pikachu pika pika."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that one. Ever since I first saw her I knew that she would be a great trainer. Once she has her confidence back nothing will be able to stop her, and winning that first round will be the biggest step to getting it back. I just wish I could spend a little more time with her tomorrow morning to help, but if I don't get past that round myself she'll probably be more upset at me then anything."

"Pikachu."

"Let's finish up; the girls probably want to go to bed soon and I for one don't want to be on either of their bad sides right before we go to sleep."

* * *

><p>Sprawled out on the king-sized bed, Dawn, May, and their Pokémon were laying down and watching TV to pass the time. The two coordinators where already prepared for the night, they were just waiting for their other friend to finish up so they could turn off the lights. Dawn even had her Pokémon egg out and lying in her lap as she finished cleaning up its surface.<p>

"I have to say May that's an interesting change of pace for your hair style," she spoke up after a while. "Any reason you decided to do it that way?"

Looking at the blunette, May nearly forgot that she didn't have her normal style on. By that point in the day she was already comfortable enough with it that even having to resituate her bangs behind her ears every so often didn't faze her. Almost as an unconscious reaction to the comment she ran her finger across her temple to pull a few stray hairs back into place.

"Well this morning Ash decided to take me for an unexpected swim in a lake we slept next to," the brunette explained with an annoyed smile coming to her face as she did. "So it just kinda turned out this way in the end."

"Oh?"

Catching the other coordinator's tone instantly, May had to make sure that she clarified it quickly.

"He went for an early morning swim before I woke up, apparently to help soothe his cuts, and knowing Ash when he's like that I should have been a bit more careful but he pulled me into the water."

"Now that makes sense," Dawn told her, though she was enjoying picturing the scene of the two at the lake's edge. "And by his cuts I assume you mean his left leg in particular right?" Catching the raised eyebrow from her roommate at the comment, the Sinnoh native put on a knowing smile. "That limp of his is quite obvious May; I assumed that he might have sprained it or something similar ever since we met up again this afternoon. Of course the large gash in his jeans accompanied by the red stain helped give me an idea as to what happened. Even if I don't look it at times I'm a very observant person. But that still doesn't explain the hair."

Knowing all too well about that observant nature of hers already, May decided it was best to let it go.

"Right, well after coming out and drying off I just wanted to get back onto the path to make it to Auburn Town in time. After everything that happened I would have felt real bad if we got here and registration was already over. Thanks to the water my hair was completely out of place and just lying down flat, so I only straightened and evened it out before saying that we should get moving again. When it dried completely it pulled itself into closer to my normal style by keeping some its normal volume."

"Then why didn't you fix it while you were still walking? There was plenty of time to do so while you were moving." Noticing the quick fidget from the brunette, Dawn had a good idea as to the real reason why. "Not that it matters in the end," she stated right after making it look like the question didn't mean anything. "Though in my opinion it looks good on you, a little different but it definitely suits you. And if I didn't know better I would have to say Ash likes it too. I've caught him stealing glances at you all while we were training."

While Dawn knew that last comment was probably pushing the boundaries of not only her promise to Ash but her own limits as well; the next words out of May's mouth even caught her by surprise.

"I know that part at least," she said while looking down onto Eevee who was in her lap. "After I was done getting ready he said I looked great with it like this. Yeah I know, I didn't believe him at first, but he said it so truthfully and with the face he had on I knew he wasn't lying or even just saying it to make me feel good. He genuinely liked it."

Slowly caressing the Normal-Type, May was trying to hide the fact that her face was starting to heat up as she remembered exactly what he said to her. Of course she couldn't hide the fact from Eevee, who at the sight of her trainer like that rubbed up against her hand to help her feel a little more comfortable with the idea. As far as she knew there was nothing wrong with the fact, and she knew that Ash wouldn't say something like that to her trainer if it wasn't true. Like her, he wanted to see her trainer happy.

"So Ash of all people actually said that huh?" Amazed at the forwardness that the boy was showing all of a sudden compared to how he used to be, Dawn was happy that he got that far even without her there. "If someone like Ash said that maybe you should keep it."

"I don't know, under these circumstances I can't deny that it probably does look good on me, but I'll probably just save it for special occasions. While I may have gotten used to the feeling of it like this today in one sense, it still feels odd not having my normal style."

"_Or I guess I could even do it like this for him every once and a while,"_ she caught herself thinking. _"He was the first one to say it looked good on me after all."_

Satisfied not only in the fact that she got her answer but also a bit of insight into Ash's inner mind, Dawn decided to change the topic.

"Though I still want to ask, what was that nickname Ash was talking about?" Instantly seeing her reaction, the blunette tried to stay as indifferent as possible, even if she had a good idea where it was headed considering that their time alone was a bit more prosperous than she expected. "I mean if it's only a name there shouldn't be any problem right?"

"I still don't want to say it," the brunette insisted. "It's just too embarrassing."

"What, is it a childhood nickname? Or is it something a bit more recent? Like, yesterday?"

Watching as the other coordinator began fidgeting and focusing more on Eevee, Dawn knew she hit the bullseye.

"_Ash said that he figured out his love for May yesterday as well, the fact that she isn't willing to say anything about it says enough as it is. At least from what I can see she isn't against this name, whatever it is, but it might just be from pure embarrassment like she says. May must not be used to hearing something like it from people, and if my assumptions are correct from Ash in particular."_

"Hmm, guess it wasn't then," Dawn lied as she calmly leaned up against the bed's backboard, trying to get May to relax a little. "Speaking of which, what exactly did happen yesterday? You guys spent the whole day together so something interesting must have happened at some point."

Looking over at the blunette, May had no clue what to take from that last piece of the conversation, especially with it jumping from one topic to the next. But at least she dropped her interest in the nickname.

"Why do you assume that?" May asked, trying to keep her cool as the blush left her face. "You can even ask Ash, it wasn't anything exciting after we finally got moving."

"But I'm not asking Ash, I'm asking you. If I asked Ash he would probably tone things down to the point where it would sound like nothing. Either that or he would have already forgotten most of it."

Unable to stop a small giggle, May felt the tension lighten slightly. She still didn't know what the blunette's agenda was by asking all this, yet most of the details didn't seem too suspicious that they had to be kept secret. And she knew that the more she kept quiet about the whole thing the more the imagination could run wild. Even without knowing the blunette's intentions, letting those thoughts grow in her head would probably only cause more problems down the road.

"I don't think he's that bad, but fine, if you want to know so badly I'll tell you. Only if you tell me why you're so interested in it."

"Sounds good to me, seeing as how it's easy enough. I only wanted a little girl talk again. I remember how you said that one of the guys you were closest to was Ash, and the way that you're trying to cover it up is only making my curiosity want to know even more."

"If I remember correctly you said the exact same thing," May reminded the girl, even if it felt weird saying it.

"What can I say? I'm interested in love as a whole and I explore all my options."

"Again, you're making it sound as if I actually love Ash. I'll admit that I love him as my best friend just like I love Eevee or my other Pokémon but it's not the type of love that you keep inferring to."

"And are you completely sure of that one?" Dawn questioned, looking directly at her friend.

"What's that supposed to mean? Yes I'm sure. I'm not in love with Ash."

Yet even with as confident she sounded Dawn noticed a distinct lowering of her voice instead of the louder version she did back in Pallet, almost as if not wanting someone besides them to hear. But there was one other thing she noticed, while her voice sounded confident her face made it almost look as though the brunette was trying to convince more than just Dawn of those words.

To May, she noticed none of what the other coordinator found from the answer. She answered it without thinking of changing it like she apparently did. Though she did notice Eevee look up at her as she said it and cuddle into her lap slightly right afterwards.

"You sound so adamant it seems as though you don't think he would be someone you would want to love."

"I wouldn't go that far," May corrected as Dawn seemed to twist her words slightly to make it sound like that. "Sorry, I've just been teased about it so much from my brother Max that, as you've probably noticed, I go right on the defensive every time it comes up. No I think that while Ash has his faults, quite a few at times it seems, if he treats his future girlfriend even half as well as he does his Pokémon he would make someone real lucky once they were able to break through that barrier he sometimes seems to have up over the topic of love. Hypothetically speaking seeing as how we're on the topic, I'm not even sure if he would think that way about me. I have even more faults then he does and with some of my performance as of late I always wonder if there is somewhere inside of him that actually resents helping me out as often as he does, covered up by the rest of himself that enjoys doing it. Besides, we're best friends and it just doesn't seem right to think of him as my boyfriend. Best friend, yes; mentor, definitely; but boyfriend?"

"Relax May," the blunette butted in, not wanting her to get too much of the wrong idea. "I was only joking. I think of him as my best friend too and I don't doubt your intentions. All feelings change as time goes on, but the fact that we're best friends with him won't change anytime soon. And as someone who also traveled with him, I'm sure that he doesn't feel any reluctance to helping out a friend. In general Ash is rather straightforward with his feelings and if he doesn't like something he'll speak his mind, just like when he does like something. But he wasn't kidding when you can get down on yourself a bit too quickly."

Taking a deep breath, May was glad that her friend didn't mean anything serious about that comment. But while she was embarrassed that she blurted all that out like that, the last thing the other coordinator said sounded familiar.

"So that would explain the 'can you have feelings that don't change' question, doesn't it?"

"Huh?"

Surprised at Dawn's reaction, May tried to remember more of what Ash had said to her last night.

"Ash said that you once asked a question that even if time goes on can you have feelings that don't change, don't you remember talking about that with him?"

"Oh yeah, I remember now," she answered as plainly as possible even if it was a complete lie. "It was on the ride down from Sinnoh."

"_So Ash can be quite the little philosopher when he wants to be,"_ Dawn silently snickered. _"I'll have fun with that one when this is all over. I bet he was wondering if he should risk telling her only to have things change later down the road."_

"But I actually didn't ask him that, I just said something along the lines of what I just told you. Did you give him an answer?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure why it came out as it did but I told him that what you feel for someone is simply accumulated feelings that gather together as time went on. So in the end, they all just build on top of the other to reinforce those past feelings."

While her answer was a lot deeper than the blunette expected, Dawn was happy to hear that what May told Ash probably didn't scare him away from the idea of confessing too much. It could have been far worse if everything was how she had pictured it. If May had said the wrong thing it could have slightly traumatized the boy after just figuring out his feelings.

"Dang, I doubt I could have come up with an answer like that one. Though if Ash is bringing up a question like that then something must have really happened yesterday."

"For the last time Dawn, nothing all that interesting happened. After we fell I fixed up his wounds and then helped him walk for several hours until we came to a lake. After a quick nap, Ash made me, I mean us, dinner and then we went to sleep. The next morning we found Pikachu and Eevee, met up with his Pidgeot and asked him for a ride to Auburn where we signed up and finally bumped back into you."

"You mean Ash cooked a meal?" The idea almost repulsed Dawn, she had seen some of his early attempts in Sinnoh and few even looked edible. He never had a single bite from any of them, let alone gave it to anyone else. Not that they would have taken him up on the offer that is. "Are you really sure you're okay after easting something like that?"

"Hey, Ash is surprisingly a good cook!" May snapped at her friend. Realizing what happened, she hastily lowered the tone of her voice. "I mean, it looked good, and it tasted really good, to me at least."

At first surprised at the outburst herself, it didn't take long for Dawn to catch on to the other thing to be surprised about.

"You actually ate the food that Ash made for you, huh? So what did he make?"

"It wasn't much, mostly just instant ramen that I had in my pack. But he did a great job on the sauce using some of the berries I save for Pokéblock. In the end it was a lot like spaghetti and it had been a long time since I had something that tasted as good as that. Or at least it might have been just because I was that hungry," she tried to remedy.

"Don't worry May, if you say that Ash's cooking is that good I'll believe you. Maybe you'll have to return the favor and make something for him someday, I'm sure he'd love to have something that you made."

"Something I made for him?"

Before May could even respond fully, Dawn's egg started to pulsate with a soft glow catching both girls' attention.

"Um, May? Does this mean what I think it means?" The blunette asked.

Virtually forgetting the blush that had formed on her face from Dawn's earlier comment, May's eyes quickly moved down to the egg in her lap.

"It looks like it," she confirmed. "You're egg is hatching."

Amidst the commotion that the girls were making, Ash came walking out of the bathroom in his new sleepwear and a freshly clean Pikachu on his shoulder. As he entered the room he couldn't see exactly what was going on because May was currently blocking his view of the egg.

"What's up with you guys?" He asked while getting closer.

"My Pokémon egg is about to hatch."

As Dawn said that, the object gave off last pulse of light before shining a constant faint yellow color and disappearing. In its place was a small four-legged feline Pokémon with blue fur on the front half of its body and black on the rear half. Only about as big as Eevee or Pikachu, the newborn had star-shaped patches of yellow fur in its ears and on the end of its tail a similar four tipped star appeared as well. Looking up at the creature whose lap he was in with his large yellow eyes before scanning the rest of the room; the Pokémon crouched down slightly as if trying to understand what was going on.

"He's cute," May exclaimed as he blinked a few times to get used to his new surroundings.

"It's a Shinx if I remember correctly," Dawn chimed in while grinning from ear to ear at her new Pokémon.

"Shinx?"

Taking out his Pokédex, Ash let the computer do its job and showed the results to the brunette.

"Shinx, the Flash Pokémon. Its forelegs have a muscle-based system of generating electricity. Its body shines if endangered."

"So that means it's an Electric-Type then," May concluded after hearing what was said.

Looking back up at the human whose lap he was in, the newborn Shinx tiled his head to the side slightly before imitating the smile she had on.

"Shinx!" He happily said while standing up on his hind paws and putting his front ones into Dawn's stomach.

"You really are a cutie, aren't you?" The coordinator asked as she lifted the Pokémon up.

As he got to face level with the girl, the Shinx instinctively started to rub up against her face causing a few giggles to escape from the blunette.

"Congratulations on your new Pokémon Dawn," Ash said to her with a large yawn. "But I think we could all go to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day and I'm already getting tired."

Without another word he headed for the open area between the bed and the couch.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Dawn demanded of him before he even laid down.

"To sleep," he told her. "I'm borrowing your sleeping bag."

"No, you're not."

Shuffling off the bed, Dawn carefully held her newborn Pokémon before motioning Piplup to follow her as well.

"Remember, you're getting the bed with May. You two need your sleep for the tournament. Besides it's my sleeping bag and I'm not letting you use it that easily. Not to mention I want to be close to my new Shinx." Cuddling up with the soft fur of her new Electric-Type, the small Pokémon happily pushed back up against his new mother. "Like I said, it's always fun to hug a fuzzy Pokémon before going to bed. And now I have another fuzzy Pokémon of my own."

Groaning at the coordinator, Ash didn't protest as he went over and opened up the covers. But before she retired to her own spot Dawn couldn't help but quietly tease him one more time before the day was done.

"You'll thank me later, just don't be too loud."

Turning bright red at her comment, Ash was about to make a comeback but thought better of it as it would just bring more attention to himself.

"You okay Ash?"

Looking up to see May already under the covers, his mind went right back to the notion that Dawn brought up.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

Getting under the covers himself, the trainer tried to keep as far over on his side as he could without becoming uncomfortable. Pikachu, knowing at least part of his trainer's dilemma took up a spot in between the two humans just as Dawn turned off the lights.

Still wondering what was going on with him, May decided it must not have been anything too important and turned over to her side getting ready for sleep.

"Goodnight everyone," Dawn called out from the floor next to them.

"Night Dawn."

"Night guys."

As the humans all started to fall asleep, Eevee found herself sitting next to May staring at Pikachu. Normally she would have simply taken up a spot next to her trainer's pillow like she always did, yet there was something more that she wanted this time. Her thoughts ran back to that morning, waking up with Pikachu curled around her. That comfort, that warmth, and that feeling of absolute security. She wanted to feel that again. She could only hope that he wasn't too mad about her little piece of revenge this afternoon. But the words Ash told her after the got to Auburn Town still rang within her head and drove her forward.

Emboldened even further by what she saw while sitting next to him that afternoon, she walked slowly up to where the electric mouse was lying down. Gathering her courage, Eevee decided to just ask. At worst she would have to sleep a foot or two away from him, but if he agreed…

"Eevee?"

Raising his head at his name, Pikachu looked up at the Normal-Type.

"Vee eevee, vee eve."

Pawing softly at the bed beneath her, Eevee couldn't even look him in the eye at that point. She wasn't sure how to react because she had never felt this type of craving before. It was much like the times before, her heart was racing and she could feel her body start to heat up, but as it continued she found it to be more enjoyable than uncomfortable. What was uncomfortable was the odd silence as she waited for his answer.

"Pika."

Smiling softly, he uncurled himself just enough to give her the room she needed.

It didn't take long for her to understand his answer. Resisting the urge to call out in joy, for both embarrassment and as not to disturb the humans, she happily strode in and curled up next to him. Feeling him situate his body around hers just like last night, Eevee could sense all those feelings return to her. Actually awake this time as he did this, she felt even better than when she awoke to it. His warmth, his smell, his presence, and many more; she enjoyed it all. Rubbing her cheek up against his in thanks, the Evolution Pokémon felt a light wave of electricity run through her body. It was strangely pleasurable, and she couldn't resist doing it once more to repeat the feeling. To Pikachu the simple action was actually kind of ticklish. He could tell she was getting some of the residual electricity that his body produced, but she didn't seem to dislike it so he didn't do anything to stop her.

Giving off one last large yawn, Eevee rested her head back down next to his and could feel sleep start to overtake her. Giving into it, it wasn't long before she fell into a deep pleasant slumber.

* * *

><p>And there's the answer to that egg that people have been probably wondering about for quite some time. Before I finish this up I've gotten a few PM's with people asking for me to slow down my updates slightly. If you have an opinion and would like for me to do so tell me in either a review or PM and I'll go by popular consensus. I'll only take what people tell me by the time the next chapter goes up, which will be with my normal schedule, and the one after that will be the one to change if my readers wish it. Other than that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, til' next time.<p> 


	19. Chapter 19

Well in the end it looks like the majority rules and I'll be keeping my current schedule. I got a few votes for a longer duration by PM but it wasn't enough to go in that favor. Although I have noticed that I have a few people saying that reading this fic was bringing back how it was for them when they first got into Advanceshipping. Guess that means my style of writing is a bit dated compared to some of the more current fics, lol. But seriously, that is one of the highest compliments that I can think of and I'm glad to see that everyone is enjoying this.

So this time thanks not only to my reviewers but also to all of you who are just reading this. While part of me wants to say I do this to hear from reviewers and their opinions, I know that the real reason is simply for everyone who reads it to enjoy what I make. Time for Round One so let's start chapter 19.

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><p>The next morning May woke up to the sound of a Dodrio's morning call. Giving off a big yawn, she stretched out her arms and looked out through the crack in the curtains to see the morning sun already up.<p>

Moving her gaze over to the other side, she found something that she never would have expected.

"Now isn't that just the cutest thing you could see?" She quietly asked herself, the smile quite evident on her face.

Lying down in the middle of the bed, still sleeping soundly while curled up with each other, were Pikachu and Eevee.

Leaning in a little, May couldn't help but notice how comfortable they looked together. She had fallen asleep thinking that Eevee was in her normal spot next to her pillow. While the brunette wasn't too far off, this wouldn't have been one of her guesses as to where exactly the small Pokémon really was. Sure, May knew that Eevee had been showing some sort of interest in Pikachu for some time now; she would have considered herself a bad trainer if she didn't notice something like that, but the coordinator didn't expect them to be this close. She was still thinking that it was a type of deep admiration for an older peer or teacher, much like her feeling for Ash. Seeing this though changed that thought a bit.

"Maybe you've fallen for him more than I originally thought," May whispered to the sleeping Pokémon.

Seeing Eevee twitch slightly in her sleep at the sound of the voice, the coordinator couldn't help but play with her a little. Taking a small lock of her hair, May softly rubbed them across the Normal-Type's nose a few times. The first few times she got only a small reaction such as her nose or snout twitching to get rid of the irritant. Eventually Eevee's paw came up to brush the intruder away, letting out a very soft "vui" in the process. Resituating herself in her sleep, the Evolution Pokémon just moved even closer into her sleeping partner's body before settling down again. Moments later she gave off a content sigh as she drifted back into her deep sleep.

Barely able to keep herself from giggling at the sight, May looked up to see that the other side of the bed was empty and Ash was nowhere in sight. Visually searching the room, she saw no sign that he was even still in the hotel room.

Shrugging it off for now, the coordinator carefully got out of bed, as not to wake its last two inhabitants, and made her way over to the bathroom with her pack to get ready for the morning.

As she turned on the shower, May realized that today was the first day of the tournament. The first elimination by means of a doubles appeal would be held all day. What surprised her the most was that she wasn't nervous at all. Almost since Ash brought up the idea of coming to this place she had been worried half to death about her performance and how it would look, but the last few days that slowly subsided and by last night it was gone almost completely. She knew that she was well on her way to getting back to her normal self. And it was all thanks to Ash, that much she knew for sure. While they didn't do much training for her in terms of contests, most of that was focused on Ash while he gave her more advice on regular battles, advising someone else on how to do the thing she loved really started to bring back that feeling. Even if it felt odd that it was Ash of all people she was advising. No, it might have even been because it was Ash she was able to feel that. Being able to help the person who did so much to help her with little to nothing in return was a feeling greater then she could explain.

After her shower and other morning routines, May got her hair back into its normal shape. While she had to admit yesterday's style didn't look bad, she still liked her usual one better. But if it looked good enough for someone like Ash to be able to compliment it, the brunette decided that it was probably best to do just as she said to Dawn the previous night and use it more for the right occasion.

Walking back out into the room she found it exactly the way she had left it. Dawn and their Pokémon were still asleep, and Dawn's new Shinx was sleeping soundly wrapped up in her arms. Noticing that it was already past 9:30, she decided to open up the curtains completely. As May looked back into the room, Dawn was starting to groan while trying to block out the light.

"What's with the wakeup call?" She finally asked after sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "I like to sleep in when I get the chance."

"Yeah Ash has told me about that, and that preference almost caused him to be late one several different occasions."

"We always made it on time, so he was complaining over nothing." Giving off one more yawn, Dawn noticed that the trainer in question wasn't around. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

"No clue."

Climbing back onto the bed, May lay down on her stomach to once again look at the sleeping couple who were still there. Softly starting to pet her own sleeping Pokémon, she could only once again giggle as Eevee moved up to meet her hand through every stroke and back down next to Pikachu as it left.

"And what's so funny?"

Looking over at what the other coordinator was doing, Dawn couldn't help but smile as well after seeing the two Pokémon like that.

"Well aren't they cute," she commented while May continued to pet Eevee. "Since when did they start to sleep like this?"

"Not sure, this is the first time I've seen Eevee sleep this close to anyone but me."

Using a single finger to lightly trace down the Normal-Type's spine, May watched as the Pokémon's entire body shivered at the feather touch.

"I'm surprised she hasn't woken up yet. It's almost hard to believe that all that petting you're doing actually isn't doing the job."

Getting up for her position next to May and the Pokémon, Dawn went over to wake her own two Pokémon.

"Eevee is a very deep sleeper," the brunette told her. "Every morning it's a chore to get her going at a decent time. It doesn't even matter what time she fell asleep, it's always the same. I just hope she didn't annoy Pikachu too much with this yesterday."

Deciding to try the other option, May started to gently wake the Electric-Type right next to her.

Unlike his sleeping partner, it didn't take too long for Pikachu to wake up. Drowsily opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was May's face smiling down at him. Giving off a large yawn he looked down to see the sleeping Eevee still right next to him. Nudging her slightly, the Normal-Type barely moved.

"Don't even waste your time Pikachu; it'll take more than that to wake her up."

From Dawn's arms her newly hatched Shinx, who was just awoken himself, finally noticed the two creatures that were at least somewhat like him. Wriggling out of his mother's arms he went down to investigate. Noticing that he was under the watchful eye of the yellow mouse, the Flash Pokémon slowly started to approach the two. But it wasn't because he was timid about the other Pokémon. Going down onto his haunches he took a few more steps before playfully pouncing between the two there, partially from hunting instinct but mostly for fun.

With the new baby suddenly between them, Pikachu was only slightly annoyed by the intrusion but from a good deal of experience knew that this was only to be expected from a newly hatched Pokémon. Even Eevee was like this at one time, actually remembering back she was the worst of all. Whenever she had free time outside of her Pokéball she was either spending it with May or always bugging him, begging for his attention.

Though his minor annoyance quickly changed to a slight fear as Shinx started to spark up. It wasn't fear of getting injured, he would never be afraid of a newly born Electric-Type, it was more the fact that the other Pokémon was still touching Eevee. Not wanting to try and explain why she would get the same wakeup call two mornings in a row, considering there was a good chance she would initially blame him again, he quickly put his tail up against the young Pokémon's chest. Creating a new circuit for the electricity to flow, the sparks around the other Pokémon slowly dissipated as Pikachu pulled the energy into his own body. He could tell that it was about as powerful as he predicted, so it wasn't enough to hurt her but it would have produced about the same results that he created yesterday.

Not understanding what Pikachu was doing or even why he was doing it, the young Shinx didn't even realize that his muscles were producing the current simply from being excited. At less than a day old he had virtually no control over his electricity. His mind wandering away from why the mouse did that, and associating the relieved sigh he gave off as a sign that he wasn't willing to play at that point, the Flash Pokémon started nudging and pushing the Normal-Type to try and play with her.

Opening her eyes to the sudden motion she was bring put through, Eevee wasn't overly happy with what was happening. Expecting to find Pikachu as the one pushing up against her, what she found was large yellow eyes and blue fur looming over her. Jumping back slightly and giving a defensive glare at the newcomer, it took her a few seconds to figure out what was going on. Relaxing everything as she noticed the now scared Electric-Type scamper around to hide behind Pikachu; she gave off an exasperated sigh before stretching a bit.

"Eevee vee," she apologized with a big yawn. Preferring that it was at least Pikachu who did that, the Evolution Pokémon finally started to look around as to understand what was going on.

Both seeing and hearing that the other Pokémon wasn't as scary as he first thought, Shinx found himself brought up into his mother's arms before he could initiate anything again.

"Okay I think that's enough out of you," Dawn told the newborn. "You can play with them later, but for now I think you should get used to your Pokéball. As much fun as it is to have you out, I don't think I'll be able to handle both you and Piplup."

"Piplup!"

"I didn't mean anything bad about that Piplup," she reassured her starter who was sitting on her head.

As the coordinator put the Electric-Type in his Pokéball for the first time and headed off to grab something, May picked up the other two that were still on the bed. Finally noticing that his trainer was nowhere to be found Pikachu turned his eyes back to the brunette.

"Pikapi?"

"Ash? You mean to ask where he is, right?"

"Pi," the small Pokémon nodded.

"I wish I knew. I was almost hoping that you would know."

"I think I found out May."

Walking back from the direction of the bathroom, Dawn handed a handwritten note to her written on a piece of paper notarized with the hotel's logo.

"It was taped to the door. And after reading it, I doubt that we'll be able to find Ash until later."

Taking the note from the blunette's hands, May recognized the slightly sloppy handwriting instantly.

"Gone to do some last-minute training, see you around noon. –Ash. PS. If you don't mind, please look after Pikachu for a while May. Thanks."

Reading off the letter, May knew Dawn was right. Ash knew this town better than either of them, and if he was training alone it would only be a waste of time to try and search for him.

"Looks like I'll probably be doing something similar." Putting the note down, the brunette helped Pikachu up onto her shoulder before grabbing the half-sleeping Eevee in her arms. "In that case let's grab some breakfast first. Then I'm going to head off to do some last minute practice for myself. His match is at 11:40 in the fourth tent, Tent D, if I remember correctly, so we can just meet up with him there."

"Sounds good to me, I'm starving."

* * *

><p>After finishing up eating, May didn't have a lot of time between then and the beginning of Ash's round. Yet it was at least enough for her to figure out exactly what she wanted to do for her round and even start to practice its execution. But she was quick to end her practice session when the time came close to seeing Ash perform.<p>

"You sure that Ash didn't need you for this round?" She asked Pikachu as the number four tent came into view.

"Pika," he shook his head.

"So is he planning to use you in one of the battle rounds?"

"Pi."

Motioning with his paw as if zipping up a zipper over his lips, the Electric-Type put on a smug smile and didn't say anything more.

"Not talking huh?" Giving the Pokémon a quick scratch under the chin, she got a satisfied coo in return. "Oh I think I could weasel it out of you with enough persuasion, but it's not like I need to. I'm sure Ash already has a good plan for you."

Laughing slightly as he rubbed up against her cheek, May looked back toward the tent.

"You think Ash is already there?" Dawn asked.

"Probably, he isn't one to miss something like this."

Walking into the tent, it was immediately obvious that this wasn't meant to be for anything but this round. Although the arena was surrounded by a small barrier wall, the rest of the place was about as minimal as you could get. Besides the arena, there were just two rows of seats on one side and the other was reserved for the judges. On the table in front of them, was a laptop and webcam pointed at the battlefield. The last person looked like he just finished up his performance, having returned his Sandslash and Beedrill to their Pokéballs right as they walked in. The benches only had a few scattered people on them, and considering both the size of the tent and the fact that it was only the first elimination round it wouldn't be on too many people's priority list to watch too many of them. Among them though was the person that they were looking for.

Sitting on the bench waiting for his turn, dressed in the new sweatshirt and jeans that May bought for him yesterday, was Ash.

"Pikapi!"

Jumping off of May's shoulder, Pikachu ran up to his trainer and plopped himself right down on his lap.

"Hey Pikachu, sorry about leaving you like that this morning but you looked so comfortable I didn't want to wake you."

Turning his eyes to the entrance, Ash waved his friends over. While they approached, the trainer could see that May's hair was back to her normal style. While he didn't dislike it by any means, it was one of the things that made May who she was after all; he kinda missed the more mature looking style.

"Morning guys," he greeted while using both hands to scratch his starter on either side of his neck earning a quite sigh from the Pokémon in the process. "Hope you weren't too worried about be when you woke up."

"You're almost too late to be saying that," May joked once she got close enough. "But good morning Ash."

"So what time did you get up to start training?" Dawn asked as they sat down.

"About seven. Everyone was still asleep so I went out by myself. Like I said yesterday, I had a good idea in mind as to what I wanted so I just needed to get my Pokémon ready to do it. It's probably not the greatest but I should be fine."

Eevee wanted to join up with Pikachu again but decided it would be best just to stick with her trainer for the time being. As much as she liked being next to him the Normal-Type didn't want to look pushy by spending every minute with him. Besides, he and Ash had their round coming up soon. Jumping down into May's lap, she was fine with her position for now. And with the thoughts of last night still running through her head how could she be worried?

"Trainer number 107, Ash Ketchum," one of the judges announced after another minute. "Please report to the judges' seat with your registration card in hand."

"Guess that's my cue." Getting up from his spot, Pikachu quickly repositioned himself back to his usual spot on Ash's right shoulder. "Wish me luck."

"You won't need it," May told the trainer.

"Just show them what you can really do," Dawn added in.

Walking up to the three judges, Ash handed his card to one of the two ladies behind the table.

Looking it over, the judge typed a few things into the laptop before giving the slip of paper back.

"Thank you; please take your spot Mr. Ketchum."

Heading over to the trainer's box, Ash took a deep breath as he grabbed the two Pokémon he was planning to use.

"Just like we practiced," he quietly said to the two balls. "Quilava, Glalie; I choose you!"

Popping out of their respective balls, the two Pokémon took to the stage. Right as he was coming out of his Pokéball while the device was still in midflight, Quilava performed a series of spinning front flips while activating his flames, and as he hit the ground a wave of fire radiated away from him causing the surrounding air to heat up quickly. With Glalie hovering right over him, the heat caused the ice encasing his body to pour off steam enveloping them both in a sparse mist.

"Not bad," Dawn whispered to May as Ash started it all off.

"Shhh," the brunette hushed her friend.

"Alright let's keep it up. Quilava, Lava Plume! Glalie, Rain Dance followed by Water Pulse!"

Giving each other a quick nod the two Pokémon went to work. Running up to the middle of the field the Johto starter let out a small pillar of ash from his mouth before molten lava bubbled up around him and began spewing out covering both him and the field in the liquid rock. As he was starting the preparation of his portion of the field, an orb of light blue started to form between Glalie's horns. Launching it up into the top of the tent the storm clouds that it created were quickly filling up and hiding the ceiling of the structure at the same time the lava began pouring off of his partner.

The molten rock was advancing slowly across the field, and by the time the thick substance covered the majority of the arena the rains began to fall. A sharp hiss rang out as the cold water hit the hot material, cooling it instantly. As the steam started to rise from the ground, Glalie began to toss spheres of water into the quickly hardening rock. Every ball caused the lava to collapse slightly, creating craters and jagged edges all around the once smooth stone. After repeating this for a while the entire field was completely transformed.

What was once grass and gravel became a stunning display of glass-like pitch black obsidian formed into small craters and peaks. The rain that continued to fall only enhanced the shinning nature of the rock while it ran down and dripped from the curved spires, and as it fell the water was pooling up in the many basins that were formed. Hovering about the impressive landscape, Glalie was just off center of the largest mound that was created around his partner. Quilava, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

"So far so good," Ash told himself as his plan started to take shape. He just had to wait for the sign from his Fire-Type before continuing. Hearing the earth move beneath his feet, he knew it was time. "Okay Glalie, time to finish this, Powder Snow and prepare for the Sheer Cold! Quilava you know what to do and begin the Eruption!"

As the Face Pokémon began covering the air in snowflakes, the judges seemed displeased with Ash's choice as the rain caught most of it, melted it, and just added to the water already collecting on the rock. The trainer caught their look but knew that there was a method to his madness; it wouldn't be much longer before his reason would be known. Moments after he started the Ice-Type's attack, a low rumbling could be felt resonating from underground and the center mound opened up in a pillar of fire reaching almost all the way to the ceiling. Watching carefully, one could just barely see a glowing gold orb move up along with the flames. It wasn't long before the orb expanded into an imitation sun, replacing the rain clouds, and suddenly causing the once disappearing snowflakes to sparkle in the bright light. But the rumbling didn't stop there, soon after several other pillars of fire began rising out of the ground in a spiral pattern, starting vertical in the center and angling away as they moved outwards. As the intense fire came up from under the newly formed obsidian, the pooled water that collected in and around it instantly turned to steam and followed the superheated air that was flowing up the pillars.

"Glalie."

Positioning himself as close to the center as he could while still avoiding the blistering hot flames pouring out of the rock, he started to focus on his strongest attack. With his eyes glowing blue, Glalie covered the entire area in a freezing blue aura. Only moments after the aura was formed everything in the arena suddenly stopped as the most powerful Ice-Type attack took effect. The glowing red-orange of the fires died down to nothing as the water vapor in the air instantly froze. For the droplets that were by themselves, snow was formed, continuing the rainbow effect that was started from the Powder Snow attack. But that was just accentuating the real show. Each pillar of fire was now literally frozen in time, while the flames themselves were gone, the water that was rising with them created a cast of exactly what they looked like as everything solidified. Every pillar of ice started out as black as the obsidian that surrounded it, caused by the particulates from the rising lava, and graduated to crystal clear at the top. With the Sunny Day shinning direct light on it all, everything glistened along with the array of colors from the rainbows.

Standing in the middle of the glossy black stone and pure ice, was Quilava, his fires blazing and looking as proud as ever. Hovering right next to him was Glalie, similarly proud as to what they just did.

"Splendid."

"Amazing."

"Well done sir."

All the judges were greatly impressed by the final presentation. Ash and his Pokémon gave one last bow, before they were returned to their Pokéballs. Seeing that his time was now over the trainer returned to the spot his friends were watching from.

"You know Ash, this going to put them back quite a bit because they have to somehow clean it up," Dawn informed him, yet the serious tone of her voice was marred by the fact that it was very clear that she was holding back her laughter.

Still on the high from landing his vision virtually perfectly, Ash couldn't help but let out a sheepish laugh.

"Hehe, whoops. I never really thought of that when I was thinking this up."

"Technically you would have been deducted points for this," May added in. "But I think that the final result would have made up for that." Looking back at the scene, the Sunny Day was just starting to die down yet the impressive nature of what Ash and his Pokémon did was still there.

"_I've never seen a coordinator do anything like this before,"_ she thought while staring at it. _"He may not have been too popular by some standards if he continued routines like this, but it's impossible to deny the skill and beauty involved in making that."_

"You did great Ash," the brunette simply said as she turned back to the trainer.

"It may have been unconventional but I can't say that it was a bad performance, very nice Ash."

"Eevee!"

"Piplup!"

"Thanks May, thanks Dawn, thanks guys."

"So Ash, how did you come up with something like that?" Dawn asked him as he sat down next to them.

"Originally it came from May's Water/Fire combo."

"Really?"

May was surprised that for once she actually influenced Ash in something. For as long as she could remember it was always the other way around.

"Yep, except I obviously did Ice/Fire instead. The black rock was originally an accident during training this morning when one of Quilava's Lava Plumes was cooled down. I thought that it looked interesting and we continued to work with it until it got to what you saw. As for the underground fires I used a version of that with Infernape in the Lilly of the Valley Conference. I knew that I wanted to freeze the pillars somehow but I only figured that one out last minute using water collected by the rocks."

"Well no matter how you got it, you still did it almost perfectly Ash," May complimented him once again. "While because of the issue of the rock now sticking to the field I'm not sure how well you'll do overall, it shouldn't be too much of a problem getting into the top 50."

"Okay, now that the first round is over how about we celebrate?" Getting up first, Dawn knew what was probably running through the minds of her two friends. "I know that you two will probably be rather hungry seeing as how it's just before noon."

"I am hungry but I really have to start training again, with this round done I need to start to work on the others." Looking over at May, Ash put on a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry that I won't be able to help you too much today May, I'm working from scratch for most of my Pokémon so I can't just go in there without at least some practice focused solely on what we need to do. To be able to meet you in the finals I can't slack off. Maybe we can have another nightly training session tonight or even tomorrow."

"That sounds fine Ash." Although May could feel that she was a little disappointed, she knew that there was truth in his words. Unlike her, he not only needed to prepare what his Pokémon will be focusing on in their rounds but to get them used to contests as a whole. She wanted more one-on-one training like they did yesterday, but she would just have to wait. Hearing that he was still willing to take some of his now precious time to help her out as well was enough to make her feel invigorated. "We can do it either tonight or tomorrow."

"Great." Starting to head out of the tent, Ash turned around to face his other companions. "So are you two coming? Just because I need to start training again doesn't mean that I won't at least have a quick lunch with you guys."

"Of course!" Jumping up out of her seat, May jogged over to Ash's side.

Smiling as she saw the two together like that, Dawn followed from a slight distance behind them. Holding Piplup in her arms she could only hope that things will work out well for them in the end. They looked so much like that of a natural couple it would be a crime against nature if they didn't, or at least that's how she was picturing it.

* * *

><p>After the trio and their Pokémon ate, Ash was already heading off to do his private training. Leaving May, Dawn, and their two Pokémon to help perfect May's first round. With Dawn's help, and of course a little from Ash last night as well, May felt that her appeal should work without a problem.<p>

As they were walking to the second tent for May's first round, a sharp crack followed by a booming noise echoed across the tournament grounds.

"Did they say it was supposed to rain today?" May asked, looking up at the sky.

"Not unless thunderstorms come during days where there isn't a cloud in sight."

Sure enough, the clear blue sky was unburdened by clouds of any sort. It was the perfect summer day.

"Then I wonder what that sound was."

Several minutes later the sound once again ran through the area, this time a little louder than the last.

"What the heck is that noise?"

"I dunno. It's been going on for at least the last hour."

"Sounds almost like a storm is coming."

"I think it sounds almost like someone cracking a giant bullwhip."

Hearing some of the conversations going on around them, May was even more confused as to what it could actually be. But she had to focus; there were bigger issues on hand.

Walking into her tent, the coordinator found the last contestant midway through his appeal. Quietly taking a seat with Dawn, May could see that Ash wasn't anywhere to be found.

"I wonder where Ash is," she whispered to Dawn. "He promised that he would be here."

"Daijoubu, he'll be here," the other girl reassured her. "Only death could keep him away from this." Seeing the brunette's face go pale, Dawn instantly knew she chose the wrong words after what was probably on her mind much of the day before last. "Of course that's just an expression, kinda like 'break a leg' or..." Realized what she said only after it was out Dawn mentally hit herself again. "I mean…"

"Please Dawn, that's enough." Not wanting to think those thoughts anymore, May had to keep her friend from saying anything else. "I know his limp is significantly better today than yesterday, but after that I don't want to have to ever imagine something like that again."

"Sorry May, I was only trying to help."

"And I appreciate it, but that alone isn't doing it."

After several minutes of both her and Eevee checking the entrance to the tent, May's name was finally called.

"Trainer number 108, May Maple. Please report to the judges' seat with your registration card in hand."

"He's not here."

Not wanting to go until Ash got there, May sadly knew that if she didn't go she would only be disqualified and that would only hurt Ash more in the end. She wasn't even thinking about herself as the thought went through her head.

Taking a deep breath, the coordinator got up and went over to the judges table. As she gave them her card with one hand, the other was tightly squeezing the half-ribbon in her pocket, trying desperately to bring back the confidence she needed.

"Okay, thank you Miss Maple. You can take your position."

Before she even turned away from the table, May noticed Eevee's ears twitch and turn to the entrance right before her head followed.

"Vee!"

Turning around, she saw the one person she wanted to see the most at that point. He was completely out of breath from apparently running the entire way there, but he was there. And to Eevee's enjoyment, Pikachu was right there with him.

"Sorry I'm late," he called out between ragged gasps.

"You better be," May playfully teased, though she was unable to hide the relief from her voice. "But at least you didn't miss anything."

Grinning about as big as he could, Ash quickly moved over next to Dawn.

Just seeing the boy brought May's confidence almost entirely back to full. Stepping into position, she grabbed one Pokéball and one other item from her pack. Opening her hand momentarily to make sure she grabbed the right one, she tossed the now revealed berry to Eevee, who caught it in her mouth but didn't bite down on it just yet.

Taking one last deep breath, May knew that it was now or never.

"Eevee, Vulpix, take the stage!"

With the former jumping off of her position on May's shoulder, the brunette threw the ball she had in her hand into the arena. Arriving in the typical flash of red, the small vulpine Pokémon was similar to Eevee in many aspects, but her six beautiful tails and the powerful flames she could spit put her on the edge offensively.

"Okay you two, Will-o-wisp and get into position!"

Looking at each other momentarily, small dark black orbs of fire started to take shape around the two Pokémon, starting with a few appearing on Vulpix with Eevee's not far behind. As the orbs multiplied, the two Pokémon began running to opposite ends of the field as the same speed and angle, much like if one put a mirror right now the center of the arena.

"Eevee Shadow Ball, Vulpix Energy Ball! Aim for each other!"

Following their trainer's command, Eevee and Vulpix began producing translucent balls of black and green energy respectively before launching a set of three of them at their partner.

"Iron Tail!"

As the balls neared their targets, the tails on each of the two Pokémon started to glow a metallic silver. Taking careful aim, they hit the oncoming attacks in an upwards angle towards their partner's side of the field.

"Swift!"

Barely even waiting for their next order the glow of their tail turned from the metallic color from Iron Tail to a pure white. Spinning their bodies, a multitude of shinning stars streaked out, each set hitting the attack the owner originally created.

As the Swift attacks collided with their targets, the six orbs detonated in a shower of green and black sparkles.

"Alright, let's start to bring this to a close. Eevee Natural Gift, Vulpix Inferno!"

Finally biting down and swallowing the berry she had in her mouth, the Normal-Type let loose a large burst of pure red fire which expanded to a width about the same size of her body. On the opposite side of the field, Vulpix let loose a similar blast of flame of her own; the main difference was that hers was a vivid blue compared to Eevee's red.

Nearing the midpoint of the field, the two powerful Fire-Type attacks just barely missed each other and skimmed along the edge of one another heading right for their targets. With each gout of flame hitting home, the two Pokémon were instantly engulfed in the blazing torrents of fire.

Pikachu instantly tensed up at the sight of the blue fire hitting Eevee, especially when it didn't die down.

"Almost done," May told herself. It didn't take much longer before her two Pokémon emerged from the fires, both completely unharmed. Eevee was surrounded by a faint green bubble, which protected her from the intense attack; Vulpix on the other hand took it head on yet didn't even have a single singed hair. The black orbs of flame still hovering around them were likewise unharmed.

"Now Eevee, Inferno! Vulpix, Fire Spin! Grab the Will-o-wisp on the way!"

Opening their mouths, each let out another blast of fire as the black balls of pure flame that were once revolving around them were caught along the edges of the attacks and flying forward as well. This time though Eevee was the one with blue flames and Vulpix was the one with red. Colliding perfectly in the center, the powered up Fire Spin dominated the other attack sending them both spiraling skyward. But the Inferno attack was still too powerful to snuff out completely, and along with the black Will-o-wisp orbs it created a great finisher. While the Fire Spin was still dominant and keeping the opposing flames within its tornado, the giant twister was a multi streaked funnel of blue and red fire with the multitudes of black orbs accentuating the outside of it, not completely combining with the opposing attacks but still caught within the tornado's powerful pull and spinning along the outer edge.

After several seconds of holding the attack as it was, Eevee and Vulpix stopped their attacks and before the fires were completely out they were once again on opposite sides of each other on May's shoulders. Bowing down, along with her two Pokémon, May finished off her performance.

There was a moment of silence in which May swallowed hard in nervousness. But then the first claps started to come from the sparse audience, which out of the corner of her eye she noticed was Ash in particular, and it wasn't long before everyone there was clapping for the coordinator.

Standing back up, May could only hope that her hair and Pokémon were enough to hide the fact that she was crying. Sure, she was crying out of happiness but she was still crying nonetheless after only the first round.

* * *

><p>Those were my very first true appeal rounds so I hope they weren't too far off what the anime would do, it's been a while since I watched an episode. But while I think May's performance was a little less spectacular than Ash's, even if Ash's completely altered the field, I wanted to add some of that in there for a reason. I don't think that it'll be hard for some of you to catch but either way I'll give a quick mention of it next chapter if you can't. Thanks for reading; next chapter will be up in two days.<p> 


	20. Chapter 20

Well I have to say that I may not have phrased that comment at the end of the last chapter as I had hoped. Though I had a few interesting ideas that I wouldn't have thought about coming from them. One of the many things that I love about reviews, my readers will catch things in my story that I didn't officially intend to create but it only deepens the story if they think that way. What I was really mentioning was what many of you already got in that the Vulpix itself was a throwback to another series of mine, and what I probably consider the story that brought me more into mainstream writing on this site. The other piece was from that same Vulpix's evolved form in a later fic. The combination of Will-o-wisp with the gout of fire was mentioned as her signature move in contests, and if I brought in the Fire-Type I might as well add that in there as well.

Chapter 20 is ready to go and the results are in for the first round, thanks as always to those that reviewed the last chapter.

* * *

><p>"You did great May, after watching that nobody could even guess that you weren't at the top of one of this year's Grand Festivals."<p>

"Thanks Dawn, I feel so relieved now that that's over."

After May's first round, the three travelers were walking down the road together heading towards the main plaza.

"See? You didn't lose anything May. Those moves were just as good, if not better, than anything I've ever seen you do."

Looking over at Ash as he said that, May could see a smile that showed every ounce of pride he had for her at that moment.

"And I barely had to do anything. That was all your doing," he continued. "You should feel real good about yourself right now May."

"That's not true!" The brunette was happy that he was praising her, but she knew that it was more than just herself that allowed the successful execution of that round. "If you weren't here I wouldn't have been able to do nearly that well, and Dawn was a big help as well getting it perfected. You may not have done much this time around helping me and my Pokémon directly, but if you hadn't been here and said all those reassuring words I probably wouldn't have even tried to enter that round. You've done far more for me than what you think."

"I just did what any friend would do. If you think that was what helped you through this though, I'm glad that I could lend a hand." Turning his eyes to the Pokémon riding on her shoulder, Ash knew that congratulations were in order for her as well. "And you did well out there too Eevee, you surprised us with many of those moves. You even got Pikachu worried when that Inferno attack hit you."

Noticing the accusing glare that the Electric-Type gave him, Ash couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"No heed to hide it Buddy, you know it was true. That was Mimic you used during that fight, right?"

"Vee," the small Pokémon nodded. Although her interest was more in the embarrassed reaction that Pikachu was giving off than Ash's questions. Even after the two nights that they spent together she was still happy to know he was worried about her safety.

"That was the basis for the entire routine," May spoke up. "Two different Pokémon creating a mirrored fight, and the fact that Eevee wasn't even a Fire-Type while still creating those moves should have been a good feature as well."

"And at least from my angle, you pulled it off perfectly." Feeling his shoulder suddenly become lighter, the trainer noticed his Pokémon jumping down and running off to the side of the street. "Something the matter Pikachu?"

Stopping off at a flower bed running alongside the pathway, the electric mouse grabbed a set of white and red flowers with yellow centers, looking to be daisies of some sort, in his mouth and walked over to May. Jumping up onto her open shoulder, he dropped all but one of the flowers into May's hands and offered the last one to Eevee.

"Aww, thank you Pikachu." Rubbing his gently under his chin, the coordinator was surprised at the Pokémon's actions. This was the first time he had ever done anything like it. Bringing one of the white pedaled ones to her nose she inhaled the sweet aroma. "I didn't know that you knew about things like this. Now what made you go and decide to give us a gift? Was it in congratulations for us winning?" Hearing the soft 'cha' as he enjoyed her hands in his fur, May couldn't help but giggle slightly at him. "If you keep this up you'll be well on your way to woo the girl you choose, or even have chosen." Rubbing him one last time at the base of the ears, the satisfied coo she got in return made told her how much he liked it.

"Eevee."

Accepting the flower between her own teeth, Eevee was also surprised at his actions. But that's not to say that she didn't know why he was doing this, and while she wasn't sure how much her trainer knew about her and Pikachu, the small Pokémon completely agreed with her statement. Setting the flower down with the ones he gave May, the Normal-Type climbed over to the shoulder that he was on and gave him a small lick on the cheek in appreciation. Even though there wasn't much room for both of them, she still found enough of it to rub up against him. Although that one was more for her own comfort and enjoyment, she figured that he didn't seem to dislike it so it might as well have been another thank you gesture.

Not entirely expecting Eevee's initial thank you, Pikachu completely lost his balance. Falling down off of May's shoulder wasn't painful by any means due to the height, but he did feel a little embarrassed. Though he even surprised himself at how much his body seemed to react to the simple lick. Nevertheless, the dumb smile he couldn't hide said more than words ever could.

Immediately concerned about the Electric-Type, Eevee was quick to jump down next to him to make sure that he was okay. Normally she wouldn't have acted like this knowing that he wouldn't be hurt from a fall like that, but she couldn't ignore the fact that this only happened to him after she got a bit too complacent and got closer than originally intending. Although he didn't look injured, she was worried about the fact that he wasn't very responsive. Nudging up against him several times to get him to move, she was starting to wonder why the humans weren't getting as anxious as she was. In fact they were even starting to lightly laugh about it.

Starting to nudge him even harder, to her relief he finally began moving again after several seconds. Blinking a few times to find the relieved face of Eevee looking down on him, Pikachu sat up and saw all of the humans and Piplup chuckling lightly at him and the Normal-Type. Facing the other Pokémon, he could feel his face start to heat up slightly watching her happily look over at him and he was glad that unlike his trainer his fur hid any abnormal red coloring, of which he had been noticing happen to Pikapi more often ever since they met up with May again. Though he wasn't sure why he reacted so much to the simple lick. One thing he did know at least was that while it gave an unusual feeling, he enjoyed that feeling, although his embarrassment and a slight bit of pride prevented him from asking for another.

"It seems that the Pokémon is more of a romantic than his trainer," Dawn whispered to the boy who was already getting nervous at witnessing the scene, even if his chuckling was hiding it rather well. "You told me not to tell May about your secret, but if you're not careful Pikachu may very well do it for you."

Ash wasn't sure exactly how to take what just happened either. Like May, he never thought that Pikachu would do something like that.

"Come on Pikachu," he hastily said as his laugher stopped, trying to make it sound as though there was nothing wrong about it at all. "We still have to get a few moves down for tomorrow."

Snapping out of his trance at his trainer's voice, Pikachu gave one last small nudge to Eevee before following Ash.

"Ash, where are you going?" May asked as he quickly started to walk away. "The results are going to be posted soon."

"Just tell me when and where I'll be tomorrow!" He called out. "Thanks May!"

Starting into a jog, it wasn't long before Ash lost sight of the two girls and their Pokémon.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned his attention to his own Pokémon.

"Not that I can be angry at what you just did Pikachu, but why? You know that I don't want to tell May and that's not helping."

"Pikachu pika pika chu Pikachu Pikapi."

Looking back towards the Pokémon in question, he just barely saw that she had returned to May's shoulder and was watching the two of them leave. He felt a little odd leaving her after that, almost as if he should have actually stayed with her. In fact, even as they were starting to leave he was already starting to miss her. It was if that one contact between the two of them made a little something inside of him finally fit together. He essentially knew what his trainer was going through after a few private explanations and he was starting to see that there were similarities between that and his own growing affection with Eevee. There was still the fact that he wanted to be her mate, that much didn't change, but he was starting to see that there might be a little more than that. He was never sure if love really was an emotion that trained Pokémon took from their trainers, but with what he was feeling that went beyond simple mates he was starting to think that it very well could.

Though there was still one blockade, even if the one that created it wasn't intending for it. Pikachu knew that Pikapi was having his own problems with the topic, and while the human didn't want to get in his way when it came to Eevee, it was somewhat inevitable that he would inhibit them to some degree. Although technically the two Pokémon could make it work, if he actually asked if she would be willing to become his mate that is, but that could eventually mean either him leaving Pikapi or Eevee leaving May to allow them to stay together. Neither of which he enjoyed having to think about, but more importantly he didn't want to put either Pikapi or May through that. So until Pikapi could make a decision of his own, the Electric-Type decided that he couldn't officially go any further with Eevee.

"Okay I understand how Eevee comes into the equation, but you still aren't helping," Ash told his partner as they continued walking.

"Pikachu chu chu Pikachu."

"I've already told you that I don't want to tell her, so no, it wouldn't be as easy as you think."

"Chu."

"Because, I don't want to force her into a decision that she'll regret."

He knew that it wasn't any fault of Pikachu's that this happened, but he still couldn't help but feel his mood fall as he really thought about what might happen if he kept this up.

"Pikachu?"

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like Dawn." It took a moment though before he could truly answer it. "And no, I'm not completely sure that I want that anymore." Grabbing a Pokéball from his belt, Ash started heading into the nearby woods and back to his training spot. "Let's just get to training; I need to clear my head."

"Chu."

Rubbing up against his trainer, Pikachu tried to console him as best he could.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault," Ash reassured his partner along with a light scratch to his neck. "I'm sorry I acted that way, but I just don't want to push unnecessary worries onto May. You like Eevee in probably in the same way I like May, and I said that I would try and not interfere with that. I just have my own problems, but thank you. I know that I can at least always count on you."

"Pikachu."

* * *

><p>May and Dawn stood near the large video screens at the front of the stadium, along with virtually every other contestant that was registered, waiting for the results of the first round to be posted at 4:30. Which by this point was only a few minutes away.<p>

"I understand that he wants to get as much training in as possible but you'd think that he would at least take enough time to learn if he passed the round."

"Normally you would be right May, but I think that there was a little more on Ash's mind then just the match."

"And what would that be?" Turning to face the blunette, May was sure that there was something going on with Ash that he wasn't telling her. She could feel it ever since they met up again but she only really began to realize it as of yesterday. She couldn't say for sure what it was, but there was just a nagging feeling saying it. And that same nagging feeling told her that Dawn knew what it was. Those feelings almost seemed confirmed the day before when Ash pulled the blunette aside to talk privately with her but she had no proof otherwise.

"Who knows? I just have been getting the feeling after watching him. I would like to say that it is just the coming battles in Sinnoh, but I doubt it's only that."

Of course Dawn knew the reason behind everything, but she also knew that May was starting to catch on that something was happening around her and any stray words may reveal something that Ash didn't want to be revealed yet. Although the Sinnoh native did enjoy placing those little teasers in to get the other girl thinking.

"You too huh? Ash has never been a person to hide things from his friends, so it seems even more unlike him."

Unable to completely believe the blunette, May still had no hard evidence to claim anything. Along with the fact that she had decided to not mention it directly and rely on her trust in Ash, she could only try to put the thought as far back in her mind as she could. The main problem being that even with all of this speculation she could still be wrong, and accusing your friends of keeping secrets from you is a good way to make things turn sour fast. So it was still in her best favor to merely wait it out and hope to find out eventually.

"Whatever it is he must have a very good reason for it."

"Yeah. I will say one thing though, Pikachu is also acting differently." Looking back down at the flowers that she had in her hand, May couldn't help but let out a smile. "Like I said, he's never done anything like this before. Although I don't think I was the main target for the gesture." It wasn't hard to see that the Eevee sitting on her shoulder looked even more content about everything than she was. "After that and what happened last night I would say that Pikachu likes you Eevee. And as long as he has Ash's good traits you've got yourself quite the catch."

"So you agree that Ash would also make a great catch don't you?"

"Huh?"

"Well you just compared Pikachu to Ash, essentially saying that that latter had nice traits that would make him quite the catch," Dawn explained while trying to keep a straight face.

"Here we go again; I told you I don't like Ash in that way."

"Eevee."

"And what is that supposed to mean Eevee?" May asked her Pokémon.

Knowing that May couldn't understand her like Ash could Pikachu; Eevee resorted to motioning from her towards where Ash went. And putting on a big smile along with her best seductive "vui", she was hoping that could be enough to get her idea across.

"That better not mean what I think it means."

"Vee," the small Pokémon nodded.

She may have agreed to not tell her trainer about how Ash felt about her, but she still wanted to help him. Because while he wasn't the one who officially raised her, she spent all of her young life watching the one who did look up to and admire him. In effect, part of that rubbed off on her and it was the reason he was always the number two human who she trusted above all others. Although the thought that May was her real mother dissipated a while ago as she got older, even if she still sometimes liked the term, with the way she watched the interactions between May and Ash she nearly made the connection that he was her father. Though looking back the Normal-Type did find the idea rather funny, it didn't downplay the idea of how highly she regarded him. And as time went on, the fact that he was Pikachu's trainer only helped support her view of him.

While Eevee didn't understand the human idea of love, with as much as May thought about Ash, she thought that it very well could be it. Besides, she knew that May was having problems wondering about her odd reactions around Ash as of late, and if it was like she was assuming it just might mean that she could be feeling the same way that Ash was feeling. And while she would do much to help Ash, she would do even more to help her trainer.

"Not you too," May whispered to Eevee as to try and not draw too much of the blunette's attention. "I already have Dawn implying that I'm in love with Ash, and now you're on her side as well?"

Eevee could barely hold back the bit of laughter at the thought. While she vaguely knew about the blue haired devil's plotting, after her initial joke in Pallet Eevee wasn't too keen on the newcomer. Even if she felt as though she could never truly hate or distrust the girl, partially seeing as how both Ash and May accepted her and what little knowledge she knew about her from May's trip to Sinnoh, the Normal-Type wasn't doing this for her sake.

"Eevee," she shook her head, and after a moment motioned towards May with a quick "vee."

"Wait does that mean for me?" Following a happy nod from her Pokémon, May could only wonder what the heck she was thinking. "Why me? The original discussion was about you and Pikachu, although you don't seem to be too surprised by that fact. Could it be that you actually like him?"

Not being able to explain that the way she liked him was probably different then what her trainer was thinking, Eevee simply responded with a nod. To humans the idea of mating and love seemed to go hand in hand for the most part so it would have been very hard without using someone like Ash and Pikachu to translate.

"Well at least you aren't hesitant about admitting it, congratulations then I guess, especially seeing as how he probably shares those feelings. But still, why me? It's not like I like Ash like that. He's my best friend. I mean sure, he would probably be a great boyfriend if you get past his denseness, but I don't like him like that, do I?"

Replying to May with a simple rub on her cheek, Eevee wanted both her and Ash to be happy and she thought that this was at least one of those paths to accomplish that.

"Is everything alright May?" Dawn asked. "You've been whispering to Eevee for a while now."

"Nope everything's fine," the brunette tried to reassure the other coordinator. "Just a bit of private talk about Pikachu's gift."

"_But why is Eevee now thinking the same as Dawn?"_ May thought, while looking over at her Pokémon who was still sporting a content smile. _"Thanks to her prodding, I have to admit that Dawn has proven that Ash would make an ideal boyfriend. He's kind, considerate, kinda handsome…"_ Blushing and feeling a smile make its way to her face, May could only wonder how she got to the point of defining her best friend as such. _"Okay, I admit, if it wasn't for the fact that he's my best friend and I really can't see him as anything but, all-in-all I don't think that I would mind calling him as such. But of course that's assuming he would go for someone like me."_

"Alright everyone, if I could get your attention up here."

Interrupting her thoughts, May heard one of the announcers speak up over the loudspeaker.

"The results are in and the top 50 have been chosen. We would like to congratulate those that passed and our condolences to those that didn't. Remember there is always next year, so improve your skills and we will be happy to welcome you back. Now without further adieu, the results. You will notice that each contestant number has a second number beside it. That is the number for your next round's battle. To find out when and who you will be facing please look at one of the smaller screens located around the plaza. Round two will start bright and early in the main stadium, and immediately after round three will begin."

As the numbers began appearing on one of the large screens, the announcer continued.

"While all 50 are considered equal for placement in the next round, we would like to give a special congratulation to contestant number 72, Leroy Jenkins, who placed first in round one. If Mr. Jenkins would come up to the judges' office after this, the first of the cash prizes will be rewarded to you. But remember folks, this is only the first round, there's much more to come."

May and Dawn were barely listening to him, their eyes were glued to the numbers that were listing off.

"Okay so Ash is number 107 and I'm 108," May said to herself.

The numbers were being posted in numerical order, so she knew exactly when theirs were coming up and once it started to approach the triple digits she held her breath.

"There they are!"

Nearly jumping up in joy, both of their numbers appeared on the list.

"We both made it! We did it Eevee!"

Pulling the ball of fur off her shoulder, May began hugging the little creature with a bit more force than she initially intended. For Eevee's sake at least it didn't take too long before she realized what she was doing.

"Sorry Eevee," she said to the Pokémon after relaxing her grip. Shaking herself a few times to get comfortable again, the Normal-Type knew there was nothing to forgive as she resituated herself into May's arms. It was almost to be expected, even if Eevee should have seen it coming.

"And of course Ash had no doubts at all considering he went off to train as if he already knew the results," Dawn added in, equally happy to see the two numbers pop up. "So now that we know you guys passed, let's take a look at the next round."

"Okay Ash is number 19 and I'm number 4."

Making their way over to one of the numerous smaller screens, May looked over the data given.

"It looks as though Ash has one of the later ones this time at 12:30 against somebody named Aaron Ryan. As for me, I'm at 9:00 against…"

May's face fell as she read the name.

"No, not him," she whispered.

"Not who?"

Looking back to the number 4 battle, Dawn read off the name for her.

"Drew LaRousse. Wait a minute; that name sounds familiar. Isn't he…"

"The greatest coordinator in Hoenn? Yes I believe that you would be right."

Turning around at the new voice, Dawn found a somewhat short green haired boy standing behind them. He was wearing a light blue pair of pants, a long sleeved black shirt and a purple jacket to go over it. He had a somewhat arrogant tone to his voice, and the blunette could already tell she would have a hard time getting along with him.

Immediately after seeing the new boy Eevee was already in a defensive posture; not actively growling at him just yet but the look that she gave him was anything but friendly. She never did trust that human, she wasn't sure why but there was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. And because of this she was adamant about making sure that he never got too close to May, even if she was always walking a fine line because of her trainer still considering him a friend.

"Hey Drew," May quietly said to the new boy.

"May, I never knew that you were going to be entering in this tournament. I didn't even think you knew about it considering that you didn't attend last year."

"I participated in a contest in Terracotta Town around this time last year," she informed the male coordinator.

"Oh yeah, the one you tied with the other trainer you traveled with. You missed a great final round last year. But of course before I forget, here."

Pulling a rose out of seemingly nowhere, Drew handed it to May, who by this time had been handed so many roses from the boy it no longer surprised her.

"That's a congratulations for making it through the first round."

"Thanks Drew."

Not even bothering to smell the bright red flower, May saw Dawn cautiously looking at the other girl present.

"Dawn, as you guessed, this is Drew, Drew LaRousse," May introduced, understanding what was probably going through the boy's head. "He's been a rival of mine since around when I first started in Hoenn. Drew this is Dawn and her Piplup, she was one of Ash's traveling companions in Sinnoh and a coordinator like us. She actually was able to get into the top four in the Grand Festival up there."

"I think I remember hearing May talk about you after she came back from visiting Sinnoh." Pulling out another rose, he offered it to the blunette. "Here, a 'hello' gift from myself."

"Thanks but I'll pass."

Dawn didn't know how to take Drew at first. He looked like some weirdo who was just interested in wooing girls, but she knew from stories told to her by both Ash and May that despite his looks he was a talented coordinator.

Giving Dawn an odd look, he seemed to shrug it off before turning back to May.

"And of course how could I forget you Eevee," he added while extending a hand out to pet her.

A sharp snarl and lightning quick snap of her teeth made Drew pull back instantly. She accepted him shaking hands with May and the giving of roses, even if it was only to be temporary, but that was about the extent of it. If he ever tried anything further, such as trying to pet her, Eevee never hesitated to scare him back to what she viewed as his real place.

"And you still don't trust me for some reason."

Looking down to make sure that his fingers were in one piece, the green haired boy just grinned before flicking his hair back.

"_It seems that Eevee has the right idea about this guy,"_ Dawn silently giggled as she watched the Normal-Type continue to growl at him. _"Now if I remember correctly May said that this guy is one of the ones that she has been around enough to be a possible love interest, but clearly started that she would pretty much never think of his as such. And the way that Ash has talked about him, those roses worry him about an underlying thought."_ With the gears once again turning inside of her head, Dawn had to hide the grin that came to her face._ "Now that I think about it, this boy could be useful to my plans. Even if it won't be true, I should be able to use him enough to help sway Ash's thoughts."_

"So it seems that we are going to be paired up against each other again May," Drew continued, apparently undeterred by Eevee's slight aggression. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks Drew, but if you excuse us we need to go find Ash." Pulling gently on Dawn's arm, the brunette didn't want to have to deal with his antics right now. That, along with the fact that she had to be going up against him again, wasn't feeling right to her at that time. "We need to tell him what time his first battle is tomorrow."

"You mean Ketchum? Don't tell me he's in this too."

Much to the two girls' annoyance, Drew didn't seem to take the hint that they wanted to move away from him as he followed them along the path.

"Yes he's here too," May confirmed for him. "And his name is Ash."

"Well in that case I might as well congratulate him as well. It's not that often you see a trainer trying to come into coordinator territory."

"Apparently you don't know Ash that well," Dawn half-ways snapped at him. "While he not be all that great at coordinating, he can hold his own quite well for someone who only does it once in a blue moon."

Feeling a slight tug on her arm, the blunette looked over to see May shake her head, indicating that she should let it go.

"Hmm, well I still say it's a lucky break. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he'll be able to get past the battle round but it's virtually impossible for him to make it to the finals. And even if he did, I would be right there to make sure that he wouldn't take them as well."

"You seem rather confident," Dawn told the male coordinator with a smirk. "You still need to beat May first before you can start worrying about the finals."

"I'm not saying that it would be an easy battle, but I am confident that I will pull out ahead. May is…"

Drew was suddenly cut off as an extremely loud crack, almost similar to the sound of a whip, followed shortly by a blast of air rushing past the three.

"What the…"

By this point they were mostly alone, following the general direction that Ash went after leaving them. Looking up at the line of trees that was the start of the forest, they could see virtually every limb still swaying from the shockwave. In the center of it all a gigantic lightning bolt from the sky was just making its way past the tops of the tall trees.

"I get the feeling we just found Ash," Dawn said, still wondering what the heck that just was.

At the sound of his name, May started to think the worst. While he was healing fast and shouldn't have too many remaining problems, she still was worried about him and this phenomenon didn't help things. Without saying anything to the other two there, she took off running in the direction of the forest.

"May, wait!"

Seeing that the other coordinator wouldn't stop, Dawn could only groan and take off after her with Drew not far behind.

* * *

><p>Yeah he has returned. In the end our main rival shipping for some reason is more easily represented by Contestshipping than Pokéshipping. To be honest it really should be the other way around but I think the Contestshippers were far more outgoing should we say about their shipping in the early days and it just left a bad taste for us.<p>

But that's no real surprise. Another chapter down and still more to go. And congrats to those that caught my little tidbit with the coordinator that took first in round one. I debated a bit after the random thought to put that in but it was somewhat fitting. Thanks for reading.


	21. Chapter 21

Welcome to chapter 21. Can't really think of much to say about the last chapter so thanks as always to those who took the time to submit a review.

* * *

><p>"<em>Please let him be okay."<em>

Running through the trees, that was the only thought on May's mind. After a couple solid minutes of running she could start to make out a glowing light just a little bit further past the trees. As she got closer, the girl began to make out the image of the one she was worried about right next to that glow.

"Ash!"

"May you really need to slow down when people tell you to…oh wow."

Coming up right behind May, Dawn and Drew could only stare at the sight before them. It was similar to the small clearing that they used yesterday for training, but the current one looked like a warzone. In one direction the entire forest seemed to bend over backwards as both trunks and branches alike were all bent in the same direction facing away from the clearing. There were even multiple trees that resisted bending but were either in the process of being uprooted or already completely down. While the rest of the trees in the around them seemed rather bare of leaves for this time of year, almost as if they were plucked right off their branches. It also wasn't just the trees that bore evidence as to what happened. The ground beneath them bore deep gashes across the entire clearing accompanied by black scorch marks. But that wasn't what truly caught the eyes of the newcomers. Standing in the middle of it all was Ash, who was currently facing away from them, and hovering in front of him was a large Pidgeot bathed in a pulsating yellow aura of electricity and its body glowing a brilliant gold color. On the great bird's back was Pikachu, obviously the creator of the aura, looking over at Ash with a confident smile on his face.

"_I know this move,"_ May thought as she watched in awe at the aura surrounding the bird. _"I can't remember when or where, but I've seen this before. Either way, I'm glad that I don't have to go up against Ash tomorrow. I feel sorry if his opponent underestimates him for not being a coordinator."_

"Great job you two," Ash told his Pokémon in an unusually loud voice as Pidgeot landed and the aura dissipated, yet a few stray sparks seemed to continue to jump off of him. The big bird looked like he was at the center of the warzone that was created around them as he had burn marks all over his feathers, with a large amount of them focused around the leading edge of his wings. Yet at the same time he seemed perfectly fine with it, showing little to no signs of discomfort. "I'm very surprised that you were able to master this in such a short amount of time, it's not an easy attack to pull off. With this we should have no problem getting to round three." Noticing that Pikachu had his focus past him, Ash finally turned around to find the other three people staring at both him and his Pokémon. "You guys are earlier than I expected." Rubbing his ears a bit he wasn't too surprised that he didn't hear them approach as his ears were still ringing slightly. He made a mental note to take care of that little problem before tomorrow. Looking back at the two Pokémon behind him, he realized that he had been found out. "Hehe, well I think that you guys now know the two I'm using tomorrow."

"You don't even know if you made it yet," Dawn told him, starting to laugh lightly at the scene before her.

"Alright then, did I make it?"

"Of course, both you and May did. Your round starts at 12:30 and hers is at 9:00."

"I never had a doubt in my mind." It was just then that he noticed the other boy, and his mood quickly changed from his usual upbeat attitude to an emotionless facade. "Drew, I never expected to see you here."

"Likewise Ketchum. I'm even more surprised that you are not only participating in this tournament as well but able to pass the first round."

"I have many talents Drew. So I assume that you're here because you're a part of the tournament as well?"

"Of course, in fact my next round will be with a mutual acquaintance of ours, May."

Glancing over at the brunette, the look in her eyes told him that it was true. Remembering who it was she lost to in the last Grand Festival, Ash knew he should to talk to her later.

"Is that so? Well I feel sorry for you, because May is going all the way to the finals."

"That's a pretty bold statement Ketchum," Drew said to him. "It's only been the first round, and while we all made it through we don't even know how any of us placed among those 50."

"I don't think that it has anything to do with being bold, I'm just stating the facts."

"And I suppose you're thinking that you'll be right there next to her in the finals?"

The tone that Ash was using was starting to wear on Drew; it wasn't anything making it sound as though he was superior or something of the sort. It was the unwavering confidence he seemed to have behind those words.

"I won't deny that is what I would hope for, but I understand my chances of getting past round three aren't that great. Round two on the other hand is closer to my specialty, and I'm not too worried that I can't make it past it."

"Now now, that's enough." Interrupting the two, Dawn knew that if she was to get her new plan into effect the two boys couldn't only be at each other's throats the entire time. "It's almost five, so how about we all go have an early bite to eat? And just because I'm feeling generous, it'll be my treat for you guys making it to the next round."

"Sounds good to me," May quickly agreed. "Ash, Drew? What do you two think?"

While she didn't have a clue as to Dawn's reasoning behind keeping the two boys from fighting, May didn't like seeing it either. While he may not have helped nearly as much as Ash did, Drew was still one of her friends and even if his comments were harsh they did give advice at the same time.

"I'm not going to complain if she is willing to offer a meal," Drew said to the others. "Sure, and thank you Dawn."

"Don't mention it."

"_And I mean it, please don't mention it again,"_ the coordinator repeated inside her head. But her face never even twitched from the courteous smile she had on while thinking it.

Not wanting to argue with May, even if the green-haired coordinator always gave him a sour feeling inside, Ash conceded. Pulling Pidgeot back into his Pokéball and allowing Pikachu back onto his shoulder, Ash walked up to everyone.

"I guess we can hold up training for a while. Those two have gotten the hang of what I was hoping for so there isn't too much else that they need."

"Then I think I saw a nice little place while we were walking here," the blunette stated as she walked off.

As the group started to make their way out of the forest, May fell behind slightly to talk to Ash.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well first of all you had me spooked with whatever that shockwave was, and I don't want to see you get hurt again."

"You felt that?" Putting on a sheepish smile, Ash wasn't expecting it to be that powerful. "Guess it was a bit more than I was expecting."

"Yeah, it probably was. Especially now that I know it was you making it."

"Sorry Angel."

Even if he said it quietly enough that nobody could hear the name but them, May put aside the flutter from her heartbeat and blush that came from hearing it. She knew that he was only teasing her and was hoping for a reaction. Why else would he continue to use that name?

"Please don't call me that, but it's okay Ash, I just don't want to see you get hurt. Secondly though, please don't make a scene with Drew while we're eating. I know you never got along with him all that well, but he has helped me from time to time and I don't want you two fighting. Even if he's going to be my opponent tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll do my best," he sighed. "But I can only promise so much, if he starts talking down about you…"

"He won't," May interrupted him in a firm tone. "And even if he does it's usually his own weird way of critiquing me."

Noticing the rose that was in her hand along with the flowers that Pikachu had given her and Eevee, Ash started to get a bad feeling in his stomach. The daisies looked very plain and unappealing compared to the long red rose.

"After we're done, do you want to spend the rest of the night preparing for tomorrow?" He asked that virtually on a whim, but if he wanted May to get back all the confidence she felt she lost in Johto she would need to be able to beat Drew tomorrow. "Since we now know that we aren't going up against each other I can give you better tips on your double battle tomorrow. And I'm sure Ivysaur could still use a bit more instruction."

"That sounds nice Ash, sure I accept." Giving him a smile that only she could make, at least in Ash's mind it was, May quickened her pace to meet up again with Drew and Dawn. In fact he even surprised himself when cute was the first description that came to his head.

"You noticed the rose too, didn't you Buddy?" He asked while turning to his ever-present partner.

"Pika."

"He was always giving her those things, and to be honest I always saw them more as him making fun of her, but she always seemed to love getting them and it wasn't my place to say that she shouldn't accept them."

Watching the brunette interact with Drew, it was almost painful as he watched her smile and nearly laugh with him.

"I really have it bad, don't I Pikachu? Just watching her laugh with him like that, I know that's a horrible thing to think but it's hard to know that he of all people caused that."

"Pikachu Pikapi," the Electric-Type told him, trying to reassure his trainer.

"Yeah I know, I shouldn't be like this. More than anything else, I want what's best for her and for her to be happy, but can't deny I also want what makes me happy. And at the moment, seeing her walk side by side with him is not making me feel that. The worst part is I don't even think that they like each other like that and it's only my imagination that's running wild."

Dawn made sure to keep an eye on Ash as they headed over to one of the restaurants in town. He was always behind the group by some amount, at times up close enough to join in on the conversation and other times further back talking to Pikachu.

"_Okay I think this is at least working,"_ she thought as they got closer to their destination._ "The only major variable in this is that I don't know how Drew feels about May. The good thing though is that I'm almost positive it isn't mutual. Either way, I think I'm going to have to step it up a little."_

* * *

><p>Walking into the restaurant and getting a table, the four humans and three Pokémon sat down and ordered something to drink.<p>

"So Drew," Dawn spoke up to start a conversation. "I haven't heard too much about you except that you're a coordinator. Mind filling me in?"

"Of course," clearing his throat, the coordinator started to think about what he was going to say. "Well I was born and raised in LaRousse City to a rather affluent family, in fact my family's business invested so much into the city that after it was redesigned they named it after us. When contests started to appear in Hoenn about seven years ago, LaRousse City was quick to follow and start presenting contests of our own."

"_Yawn."_

Ash could literally care less about Drew's upbringing, even before he realized how he felt about May. So to keep himself from having to listen to the story that was going on, he put his focus on Pikachu, giving the Pokémon a rather unskilled massage while petting him.

"Pika…"

Pikachu may have known the reason why he was currently getting this type of attention from Ash, but besides the fact he didn't want to pay attention to the story anymore than his trainer, he was quite enjoying the massage.

Even if she was the one who asked for it, Dawn too quickly got bored of what the greed-haired coordinator was saying. Part of the reason being that much of it she could probably guess he blew out of proportion. In fact there were a few of his stories that she had examples from either May, Ash, or even both, in which she could compare and prove that there were dissimilarities. But for her to get what she wanted, she had to come up with an opening question so it didn't sound as odd to bring it up. Looking around the table she could tell that neither Ash nor May were completely paying attention. May at least seemed to have some interest and was listening in, but Ash had tuned him out completely and was focusing entirely on Pikachu. Dawn wished that she could so the same with Piplup or even Shinx, but because he was directing the story at her she couldn't be that obvious. She had to at least pay enough attention to be able to ask a random question here and there or answer one of his own, though the blunette made sure that it was not any more than necessary.

"_Does he not notice that no one is paying full attention to him? Or is he really that narcissistic that he just can't tell? Ash better thank me for all of this when it's all over."_

It took up until their food arrived for Drew to finally seem to finish up. The only reason that she really figured out that he was done was that she heard the Johto Grand Festival mentioned around that time.

"Wow, you've really been though a lot." The blunette was being rather sarcastic, but from what she had learned about the boy so far she doubted that he would notice. Besides, she found out that she was a rather good actor when she needed to be and could put up a façade better than anyone she knew. After that 'discussion', she now felt safe enough to ask the real question on her mind. "So Drew, you seem to be rather close to May. What do you think about her?"

Dawn instantly got looks from everyone at the table for her question. The hardest glare was coming from the one she expected it from, Ash.

"What do you mean by that?" Drew asked, somewhat confused at the question.

"You probably know her best when it comes to rival coordinators, so what do you think of her as a coordinator and as a person? While we may be friends I want to know more about her from your angle."

"Well, as a coordinator May is one of the best. While she does still have a few faults she is one of the best out there. She has great talent for appeals and even if her battle rounds are a bit atypical compared to most other coordinators, probably from her distorted training, she is usually able to get by without too many problems. Sometimes even resorting to brute strength to push her way through to victory when things get tough, but it works in the end so I can't say too much. All in all she's one of the best coordinators to come from Hoenn, and was one of the favorites to win the last Grand Festival. Too bad she lost in the second round, she could have gotten far."

"That's a real roundabout way to praise yourself," Ash said to the boy while taking a forkful of his food, his tone was flat without much emotion. "Because with you praising her to that extent, yet mentioning that she still lost in the second round, to you of course, is just saying that you are everything that you just listed off but better."

"Ash!" May hissed at him while backhanding his shoulder.

"Hey, it's true."

"I don't deny it Ketchum," Drew said with a flick of his hair. "While May is a talented coordinator, I still have more experience than her and it shows at times."

"Yet you shouldn't forget, that experience failed you in Kanto last year," the trainer responded with smirk.

Getting flustered at Ash's comments, Drew tried to put a cool look back on and brush them off before grabbing some of his own food.

"I know I lost and that was more of a mistake on my part. I underestimated her and I paid the price. It was partly because of that I was able to win this time. Now as for May as a person, from the moment I saw her I knew that she was a blank slate when it came to not only coordinating but as a blossoming woman as well. She was beautiful and had a natural grace to her that few could compare, a grace and beauty that would only get greater as she matured. That is why I chose to give her the rose of all flowers, as beautiful as she was with a touch of class and elegance. As we competed against each other I came to know her personality as well, a little shy but very determined. Yet I have to say that she does look cute while under pressure."

While Ash showed no facial difference as Drew talked, the fist under the table continued to clench harder throughout the whole thing. Eventually he had to force himself to relax it for fear that his fingernails would start to dig into and cut the skin on his palm. It also didn't help when he noticed May was beginning to blush from the compliments.

"All in all, she's a wonderful person and it's only accentuated by the fact that she is a great coordinator as well."

Ash was trying with all his might to keep from showing anything to the other teens there. After a while he realized that it was more the fact that other people had their eyes on May like he did, even if Drew didn't outwardly say it. He knew that he wanted what was best for her, that thought never wavered, but to imagine her with someone else where he wouldn't be able to see her smile or listen to her voice was what was becoming painful.

The rest of the meal went off without too much of a problem. Dawn knew she had the point she was looking for and tried to continue to subtly steer the discussion away from what could upset Ash any further.

* * *

><p>While the tension was still there in one form or another throughout the rest of dinner, there wasn't too much being shown. After the surprising feelings that he encountered after hearing some of the things that Drew said, Ash was keeping quiet to keep it hidden. But the problem wasn't just the fact that he was feeling that way, it was that he was annoyed at himself. Besides his words Drew was showing no sign of actually making a move on May, and with the way that Eevee looked at the coordinator the dark-haired trainer knew that there was no way he would get close. It was the words alone that were eating at him. Yet he pushed it down as much as possible, not for his own sake but for another's. May told him not to make a scene with Drew, and he didn't want her to have to worry about his own internal battle.<p>

The end of dinner couldn't come any sooner for Ash. He wasn't sure why but as it continued on he was able to calm down easier. From the first few questions that Dawn had asked the discussion went more casual with the teens joking with each other. After the blunette paid for the meal as she promised, the four went out to a park close to the Pokémon Center to sit and relax for a while. With it only being a little after six, Ash wanted to do some more training with May before the day was over. Part of him probably wanted to start it simply to get rid of Drew, but at the moment he didn't want to say it outright seeing as how May was actually somewhat enjoying his company. So until then he was trying to lose himself in his thoughts.

"Considering you were able to take third this year in the end, where are you planning to go next Drew?" May asked as the conversation started up again.

She had always had an odd relationship with Drew over the years. While his condescending personality took a while to get used to she finally realized it was one of his ways of critiquing her style. Though in the end he was never all that great in saying how to rework it, so whenever he revealed a mistake to her the brunette was always quick to bring it up to Ash to ask how to actually fix it. It wasn't until after she got used to how he interacted with her that May finally started to see him as a friend as well as a rival. The one thing that she never fully grasped though was the roses; he gave them both as a reward for winning but also seemingly as a way to gloat about being superior to her. There was a thought at one point that it could be romantic in nature and it was those thoughts that sometimes made her blush at the gift, but it eventually became so common that those thoughts started to mix with the problems that would be associated if they were true. So it was around midway through her travels in Kanto that May solidified her thoughts of how she viewed Drew, a rival and friend who was just hard to deal with at times, nothing more and nothing less.

Of course once Eevee started staying out of her ball, the green-haired coordinator was never able to get close to start anything anyways. Not that he tried too hard. By his own words over dinner, he was attracted to May but never seriously tried to make a move. Whether it was from Ash when he was with her, Eevee, or some reason of his own – one of which Dawn figured was simply that he thought May would come to him – it never turned into anything. And that was one thing that Ash was glad to hear.

"Well I think that the next place for me will be Sinnoh," he told her with a slight smirk. "After everything that you've told me it sounds like an interesting place. And with already having participated in the other regional Grand Festivals it will at least be a different experience."

"You better be ready for it up there," Dawn warned the boy. "Up in Sinnoh we're tougher than you think."

"I think I can handle it."

"So how about Harley and Solidad?" May added in. "Are they going up there as well?"

"Didn't you ask one of them before you left?"

"I'll never directly ask Harley anything like that," the brunette nearly spat out. "But as for Solidad, I left in such a hurry that I was never able to."

Looking at her for a second as to figure something out, Drew gave a quick flick of his hair before responding.

"I really shouldn't be telling you this every time, but I think your stories reached Harley's ears and that's where he thinks you're headed to next if you decided to continue."

"If?"

"Guess you wouldn't know that either, after your loss a couple weeks ago and disappearing soon after, he started claiming that you would never come back. Although he looked happier than I've ever seen him, something told me that there was something more to it than just that."

Giving off a half-hearted laugh at the comment, May knew just how close it came to being true. Taking a sideways glance over at Ash, who had his attention on their Pokémon at the moment, she couldn't help but smile as she knew that if it wasn't for him there might have actually been a chance the rumor would be true.

"Well as you can see I'm not one to give up that easily," she finally said in a confident voice. "So what about Solidad?"

"Probably the same as Harley," the other coordinator told her. "The stories you told most likely once again gave her the idea and she might think that will be the next place you'll show up as well."

"I never thought that I was talking that highly about it."

"Are you being serious May?" Drew asked, almost as if he wasn't sure if he could believe her. "After you got back you couldn't stop talking about it and about how you were able to meet up with your friends again. It took a couple weeks before you stopped. And even then it was a gradual one."

Although May looked a little embarrassed at the fact, to Dawn it said something completely different. Even if her thoughts of May not liking Ash the way he did had subsided by now, the original idea that it was his support that she was missing was almost being reinforced in her mind.

"So does that mean you aren't planning on heading off to Sinnoh?" The green-haired coordinator continued.

"I'm not really sure right now," May told him while looking down at Eevee who was currently on the ground with their other Pokémon. "Ash has to go back up there to challenge their Elite Four sometime soon so I might be going there, but I haven't set anything in stone."

"Their Elite Four? Now why would Ketchum be doing that?"

"Guess that's one piece of news you didn't hear." Straightening her pose a bit almost like she was going to tell one of her own achievements, May was at least happy to declare this one. "Ash is the current Lilly of the Valley Conference Champion; as such he can challenge the Sinnoh Elite Four and its champion for the position of Champion of Sinnoh."

"So Ketchum finally was able to take first." Looking over at the trainer, Drew noticed that he lifted his head back up in curiosity of his name being mentioned. "I guess I should at least say congratulations. Even if it's easier than a Grand Festival it does at least take some skill to win a conference finals, but you don't really look like a champion in my opinion."

"Thanks Drew," he replied in an obviously sarcastic tone. "But being honest, I never really cared about your opinion too much so don't mind me if I forget that you said that last part."

Avoiding the annoyed glare from May, Ash couldn't help but say the truth when it came to that.

Giving off a confident smirk, Drew was at least being honest with what he said. He never had the highest opinion of league trainers, thinking that they took the easy path which only required brute strength and not any type of elegance which was required for coordinators. But that didn't mean he didn't respect certain ones, because even if it was only brute strength that strength was immensely powerful depending on whom you compared and not even the top coordinators could match up to to them in a straight battle, even if contest battle rules were in place. The regional Elite Fours and their champions were obvious ones, but the conference champions who showed enough skill to be able to officially challenge them did come close.

"This does change things a bit though I will admit. Assuming that you don't destroy your own point total in the process, I don't doubt that you should be able to get through the next round. But the third round is another story. It takes much more than the skills of a league trainer to make it through."

"You don't have to tell me that," the trainer responded with a confident half-smile. "Remember I taught the essentials to May and worked with them even further while traveling with Dawn along with entering the random contest every once and while. I will also admit that when it comes to coordinating you are better than me, but that doesn't mean I can't put forth a good show with the backing of my Pokémon."

"Okay guys that's enough," May interjected, hoping that with her comment she didn't set off a powder keg. "You each are good at what you do, and both are as tough as they come. So please don't fight."

"I wasn't fighting," Ash said simply as he looked back at their Pokémon. "I was just giving my opinion."

Turning his attention back away from the conversation, while the trainer never did like Drew or some of his actions, he did have a grudging respect for the boy. As much as he disliked him and couldn't trust some of what he did Drew was a good coordinator, that much wasn't a question, and Ash was never one to not acknowledge something like that.

Nearly oblivious to what the humans were talking about the Pokémon were relaxing as well after the meal, or at least some of them were trying to at least. Dawn had let Shinx back out to help ease his transition into the Pokéball and after spending some time with his mother to simply enjoy the sensation of being with her, the newborn was busy playing with the other three there. Although he had a favorite already.

"Shinx!"

Pouncing down onto what his eyes were targeting for the last few seconds, the yellow tail moved out before he landed. Looking up to see where it went off to, he found it lightly touching his nose. A stray spark was all that indicated the flow of electricity as the tiny jolt moved through his nose and into his body. But being an Electric-Type himself it was anything but painful. Pulling his face away from the current by unconscious reaction, the wave of energy virtually tickled as it traveled from his head down to his front paws.

Opening his eyes again he saw the tail twitching slightly just a little distance away. Getting back down onto his haunches he took another leap at it only to miss again. This time he was already anticipating that and turning suddenly pounced onto the tail's owner.

"Pika!"

Surprised by Shinx's change in targets, Pikachu found himself now pinned down by the playful Pokémon. The gratified smile that the newborn had on from successfully catching his target nearly made Pikachu laugh as it brought back enjoyable memories.

Lifting his tail up to the young Pokémon's stomach, the mouse let another wave of electricity flow though it and into his playmate. The reaction was nearly instantaneous as the Flash Pokémon rolled off him laughing. Standing up himself he continued his ministrations along the underside of his younger companion's body, earning more laughs in return.

After stopping to allow Shinx to catch his breath and sit up, Pikachu's eyes went a bit wider as the other Electric-Type got back on his haunches. Although it was faint, a light blue aura of electricity surrounded him before he made his tackling charge to start playing again. Although it was imperfect by virtually every definition, it was definitely a Spark attack. Surprised by the fact that he was even doing it as young as he was, Pikachu didn't even think about dodging and took the attack head on.

Pinning the mouse down once again, Shinx looked as happy as ever as the aura dissipated. Thankfully his target barely even felt it, but Pikachu couldn't help but feel a little proud at seeing him perform his first Electric-Type attack. Shinx also seemed to vaguely understand it as well because as soon as he had his playmate down he was already off and crouched down with his tail waving happily behind him, waiting for Pikachu to initiate the next game.

For the other two Pokémon watching they had different thoughts as to what was going on. To Piplup it was mixed feelings seeing the newborn. She was happy that he came out of his egg so that she could finally see her trainer's new Pokémon that the blunette wanted to find out about, but it was obvious that he would be getting some of Dawn's attention for a while as well. Of which she was unsure of how to feel.

For Eevee the scene was completely different. As she watched Shinx continually tackle Pikachu, who by this time was actually starting to dodge, the fact that he never once seemed annoyed by this was intriguing. Although witnessing that did bring back memories of when she was younger and did the exact same thing. It was pretty much every time she was outside of her Pokéball and not with May that she played with him. Or at least she viewed it as play. Back then the Evolution Pokémon had no clue why she enjoyed tackling into the Electric-Type so much, and in hindsight she couldn't understand why he put up with her when she was like that. Many of the attacks were when he wasn't expecting and while she was young some did connect surprisingly well. But never once did he complain. Eventually he did make it harder for her to hit him by staying more alert and dodging most of them, but she did get better and was still able to hit him every once and a while.

Of course she now knew that a lot, if not all, of those hits were simply because he allowed her to hit him. Unlike her, the basis of his training was the power in his attacks, the accuracy of his attacks, and dodging his opponent's attacks. On top of it all he had several times the experience she had, so her pitiful attempts back then should have been completely useless if he so chose to do so. It was the first of his lessons that he gave her, and while most of her training still came from May it was him that gave the core advice on how to really battle. And it all started with those simple games.

But as she continued to watch the two of them play, her thoughts shifted away from herself and more to simply him playing with a newborn with only as much effort as it took to keep it safe but fun. After the scene became more of an idea than what was really going on, it didn't take long for her to lose the image of Shinx and instead be replaced with a couple small versions of herself as Pikachu continued to play with them.

Well if she had any remaining doubts about what she wanted in the future that image threw them completely away for her. Even if she didn't truly know if that's what he wanted as well, she almost wished that it was her time to see if he might look at her differently.

Even Ash had to smile at watching Pikachu play with Dawn's new Shinx. His starter had always been good with young Pokémon so it was no surprise to see him act like that, but this was his first time playing with another Electric-Type like that, so being able to actually use his electricity while playing probably was enjoyable to him as well. The only other baby he was willing to try it on was Phanphy due to him being a Ground-Type, and to the mouse it was probably much easier that way to go about playing than any other.

Looking back at his friends, Ash could see that they were still engrossed in some conversation and by the sounds of it was coordinating based. Normally he would have been interested in it at least a little bit, but this time it wasn't something that he wanted to get into. He had too many other things running through his head.

Noticing that Shinx had retreated back to Dawn's lap after getting tired out by all the playtime, he decided that now might be best to get his thoughts in order.

Grabbing Pikachu, who was a little surprised at his trainer's sudden action, Ash got up from the bench.

"I'm going to head out for a bit," the boy said to the other teens as their attention turned to him. "I kinda want to find a better view."

"We can come with you if you want," May told him as she was about to get up as well.

"No that's okay; you guys can just stay here. I won't be too long."

Giving them a reassuring smile, Ash started to walk off to a deeper portion of the park away from the normal path as Pikachu made his way up to his usual perch.

"I think I'll go with him," Dawn added in, sensing the real reason for the trainer leaving. "Finding a place to actually see the sunset sounds like a good idea. With all the trees here you can't really see much."

Positioning Piplup back to her normal spot on the blunette's head, she took Shinx and with a small goodbye wave quietly followed after Ash.

Even if she didn't say anything at first May was suddenly a little worried. Not only for the fact that Ash was keeping to himself this entire time but also the fact that once again Dawn was going to be alone with him while watching the sunset.

"I won't be long," she found herself calling out to the Sinnoh native. "Just another few minutes."

Suddenly finding herself alone, Eevee couldn't help but feel a little lonely at the loss of the other Pokémon. Climbing up onto the bench, she made her way into May's lap to make herself comfortable and warm at the same time. Even without them she at least still had May so the loneliness didn't last long. But she could only relax so much; with everyone else gone her trainer was now alone with the green-haired coordinator and she was always more alert when it was like that.

"Now that they're gone I actually have something that I wanted to ask you May," Drew said after Dawn was completely out of sight. "After the way you looked following the last Grand Festival a lot of us were worried that Harley's prediction was actually true. Obviously seeing as how you're here in this contest it wasn't, so that's at least good to know."

"To be honest Drew part of me was actually considering it," May told him truthfully. "Losing to you like I did only supported my initial thoughts that I was losing my skill as a coordinator. But mainly thanks to Ash I was able to overcome that, and while I don't feel completely back to normal I know that I'm almost there. It was also thanks to him that I remembered that no matter what I should never give up on my dream, even if I have a problem here or there along the way."

Seemingly bothered at hearing that, Drew was quick to bring up his real idea.

"That's good to hear at least. But I was wondering, how would you like to join me in going to Sinnoh? And not just in going there to compete together, but actually travel together."

Looking back at the other coordinator, May was shocked to hear him say that. This was close to what he said to her last year but this time he was actually asking her to travel with him. But conversely Eevee was not liking where the discussion was headed from the start and instantly tensed up.

"You just said that you're just now starting to get back to normal. Well what better way than having a top coordinator supervise your training? You can only learn so much from Ketchum…"

"Ash," she corrected.

"Alright, Ash then." It almost seemed painful for him to say the name. "As I said you can only learn so much from a league trainer like him and I don't want to see talent like yours wasted by getting the wrong instructions. Now I understand that you do think highly of him because of the way he watched over your initial lessons and I know you'll think badly about the way I said that, but from a coordinator's standpoint you can't deny that it makes sense."

"I don't know Drew."

May was getting conflicting ideas. On one hand he did have a point, as a fellow coordinator he could teach her more about the topic than Ash could. But then there was still the idea that it was because of Ash that she was able to get back on her feet, and knowing Ash he would never get along well enough with Drew to willingly travel with him. She didn't want to leave him just yet, and if she was to follow Drew to get help from him she would have to do just that.

"Alright how about giving it a bit more thought," he offered while standing up himself. "After tomorrow's battle we'll see if a pure coordinator's teaching will beat that mix of league and coordinating that you have. Even if it does make you stand out a bit among your peers." Starting to walk away he gave a wave before getting to the path. "See you tomorrow on the stage."

To Eevee it seemed like the boy completely overlooked her glare at him the whole time but it wasn't all that important. The important thing was that now May had an alternative to following Ash that would also possibly allow her to regain her skills as a coordinator, which besides conflicting with her trainer's thoughts also meant that it might separate her from Pikachu. Not to mention if she decided to say yes it would be bad for Ash in the end as well, and she didn't want to see him saddened by a decision from her trainer.

Taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it as she sat back on the bench, the coordinator looked up at the now red tinted sky.

"What should I do Eevee?" May asked her Pokémon. "I know that I should probably continue to follow Ash but I can't deny that what Drew said sounds correct. The real question is about if he really was the reason that I wasn't able to do well last year. If that's the case then it doesn't matter what Drew could teach me. But could he be right in the fact that Ash was actually a bad influence on me?"

"Vee!"

Adamantly shaking her head no, Eevee didn't want May to even start considering thoughts like those. She obviously took traits from the trainer over the years but the Normal-Type never once considered that they were detrimental in any way.

"I hope so too Eevee," May told her. "I'm not even sure how he would react if I told him that everything he did for me really was a waste and only set me back."

Taking out the set of daisies that Pikachu picked for her earlier along with Drew's rose May looked at the two of them, almost as if it was between the two that she had to make the choice and now as it really was.

Sighing knowing that she now had another step to take over and above what she was already having to deal with, the only thing the brunette knew was that it was probably best to go and join up with her friends instead of just sitting there.

Not too happy of what came up, Eevee knew that her position on the matter at least was unwavering. As she was brought back up onto May's shoulder, she caught a glance at the flowers. At the same time a realization came to her head that she forgot to do something. While it would help ease her own tension on the idea slightly, it was also more importantly something that she always thoroughly enjoyed doing.

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><p>I really didn't want to drag the chapter on this long but if I split it on the only real place that I could have split it I would have gotten one chapter that was abnormally short while the other was a little longer then what I consider my average, though that average has changed with this fic apparently, and both chapters would lack a bit of kick and mainly feel like filler chapters. Or at least that's how I was seeing it. Oh well, hope you guys didn't mind the longer than normal chapter.<p>

Thanks for reading as always. Next chapter will be up as scheduled.


	22. Chapter 22

Well last chapter revealed a little something that Drew is hoping for, but this one will be another important one for Ash. Thanks as always to those that reviewed last chapter, so here's chapter 22.

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><p>"I don't know what to think any more Pikachu. I want her to be happy above all else and I still think that telling her would only bring in more problems than good, but from everything that Drew said tonight made me feel jealous. I know I can stay happy just watching over her, but when she finally does choose someone, and that someone isn't me, what happens then?"<p>

Moving down the path a ways, Ash found a small path diverging from the main one that led to an apparently forgotten lookout. The view was quite spectacular as a hill slopped down away from him towards the start of the forest at the bottom, looking out across the horizon the sun was just starting to recede below it casting a pinkish-red glow along the sky.

"I'm just getting more confused about all this," he finally said as he sat down on the bench and allowed his starter to take a more comfortable position in his lap.

"And that could be taken as a good thing."

Not even needing to turn around, Ash recognized the voice immediately.

"Not now Dawn."

"I thought I should just come out to tell you that May is saying a few last things to Drew before he leaves for his hotel, which you'll be happy to hear is actually on the other side of town."

Sitting down beside him, Dawn repositioned Shinx into her lap while Piplup stayed on her head. She could tell that Shinx wanted to play with Pikachu again but kept a firm hold on the young Pokémon, with what was going on it wasn't the time or place.

"So you're getting confused huh? What are you getting confused about?"

"Like I said, not now. You promised that you wouldn't interfere with this anymore and let me decide. And yet you invited Drew along to do just that, didn't you?"

"Ah, but that's where you have it a little off. Yes I did invite Drew to get a get another opinion added to the mix, but what I promised was that I wouldn't force you to change your mind and make a decision on whether or not to tell her. If you look back I have done nothing of the sort and thus kept my promise. I could just as easily tell May that you love her and then make the decision for you, but not only did I promise not to do that, it would be unfair to you. You need to be the one to figure out what you want to do. I'm only making sure that you don't regret your decision. If you don't see anything wrong with everything that happened today, then it shouldn't matter if I brought Drew, Harley, or even that one boy who hit on May while you were in LaRousse City. In the end your mind shouldn't have a problem with this. Although it wouldn't be entirely the same, they can make her happy and smile just like you can."

"How do you know about him?" Ash quickly asked, referring to the last boy Dawn listed off.

"You've told me several times in Sinnoh as we were talking about your stories of the past," she answered with a sly grin. "You just happened to mention him in particular almost every time, whether or not you realized it. My point is, you've decided to not tell her, but for that decision to really sink in you need to realize that if you don't speak up May might find someone else. I agree that it would be nice for everything to stay like this forever, but no matter how much you wish for it, it's virtually impossible to happen that way. From what I've gotten, your mind says that's okay as long as she's happy, but does your heart agree?"

"How can it?" He said in barely above a whisper.

Seeing that in a moment they would no longer be alone, Dawn sat up and brought a somewhat unhappy Shinx back into her arms.

"Remember Ash, I'm not your enemy. I'm only here to help. If both your mind and your heart can agree that it's best not to tell her then I'll stand by your decision. I just don't want you to get hurt, whether it be from your own thoughts or from May. So until they can agree I'll test your resolve so that in the end you know without an ounce of doubt that that you made the right choice. That being said, to make sure you don't get too worried though, I think you'd like to know that she still keeps your ribbon on her no matter where she goes. I've seen her reach down into her pocket for it much like you do many times now."

Watching her walk away, Ash let his head fall down into his hands.

"I really hate her right now Pikachu," Ash told his long time friend. "But I think the reason why I hate her is because she makes too much sense." Even if he had a hard time with one aspect of what Dawn was talking about, a smile came to his face at the thought she still kept their ribbon as close as he did.

Trying to make all these things out in his head, the trainer heard footsteps behind him.

"Enjoying the scenery Ash?"

Expecting Dawn again, he was surprised to hear May's voice instead.

"Yeah, you could say that."

Sitting down next to him, in the same spot that Dawn just was moments ago, the brunette looked off towards the sun as it got lower in the sky. Jumping down from her shoulder, Eevee was eager to join Pikachu over with Ash. Without any real resistance from the Electric-Type, she made herself comfortable in the new position.

"Is there anything wrong?" May asked after a few moments of silence. "Is this still about Drew?"

"No it's not that, or at least not entirely."

"Do you want to talk about it? I may not be all that great with words but I am willing to listen. You told me that night if I needed to cry I should come to you, well it extends both ways Ash. Not necessarily to cry, but I'm always here to at least hear you out."

Grinning slightly as she reminded him of what he said to her only nights before, Ash at least felt a little better.

"Thanks May, but I should be fine."

"So this really is something that you can talk to Dawn about but not me, isn't it?"

At the sound of those words Ash's grin quickly faded as he looked over at May, her eyes telling exactly how worried she was with that possible realization.

"I may not be the most reliable person that you've traveled with but I do want to be here to help you when you need it," she continued. "I can tell you are keeping something from me and I'm not going to ask what it is, that's your choice and I hold nothing against you for it, but I still want you to be able to rely on me when you need to."

"You're thinking too much into it," the trainer tried to reassure her even if she was right to a degree. Though he was surprised that she was already catching onto his feelings for her, even if it seemed as if she didn't know the exact reason as of yet. "What I was talking about with her was something that started in Sinnoh. Whenever I need real help though, I'll come straight to you. You can at least trust me on that, Angel. While it may not be as obvious as it could be, I do rely on you when I need to."

"Trust has never been an issue between us Ash, and what did I tell you about calling me that?"

"That you enjoy it but are still unwilling to say it out loud?"

With the cocky smile that he had on while he said it, May was having a hard time trying to get mad at him. And even if she wished he wasn't, it didn't help that he was right as her heart once again skipped a beat at hearing the name come from his mouth.

"I'm not in any way going to agree to that," she said, crossing her arms in front of her with a blush starting to form across her face.

"But if you remember correctly you did just that a couple days ago. So in the end that means I'm right."

"No, you're not."

Chuckling at the sight of her, Ash was glad that it at least distracted May from the other topic. Besides, there was something that he wanted to give her anyways, so he didn't want her to be upset with him to start it off. Although before he started, he couldn't help but notice something sticking out of her pack.

"I see that you still have the daisies that Pikachu gave you," he pointed out.

Finally uncrossing her arms to look down at the flowers, May began to forget about the extra color her face was showing.

"Of course. I was waiting until we got back to the hotel so I'll I could try and find a vase for them; hopefully they'll last a few more days. What, you didn't think that I would throw them away, did you?"

"No. I was just wondering…" Hesitating slightly before saying it, Ash had to lose eye contact with her for a moment. Otherwise he knew he wouldn't be able to say the next part while keeping it sounding natural. "What happened to the rose that Drew gave you?"

"Oh that." Giggling slightly, May realized she never told him what happened to all the ones that the coordinator gave her throughout Johto. "Yeah that one I actually did throw away. Ever since I started keeping Eevee out of her Pokéball, all of the roses that Drew gave me never lasted very long. She started having the bad habit of biting off the bulb, so I could never even keep them if I wanted too."

"Vee."

Standing up from her spot next to Pikachu, she looked very proud of herself as the small Pokémon straightened her posture and put a big grin on her face.

"_I should remember to thank Eevee at some point,"_ Ash told himself with a bit of a smile. _"Even if she probably didn't mean it for me, it still helped."_

Rubbing around the base of her ears, the Normal-Type purred contently at the trainer's touch. Moving to nuzzle his hand a bit to get him to move a little lower, she nearly melted as his second hand started to scratch beneath her chin while the first continued circling on the top of her head. Chuckling at the Pokémon's response Ash was glad that at least she was right there with May when he couldn't be.

"I've always assumed that it had something to do with the reason she doesn't like Drew," May continued as she watched her little partner's reactions. "Although to be honest I don't know why she never liked him in the first place. I can't remember him doing anything that would make her act like she does to him."

"Oh I'm sure she has her reasons, and I for one see nothing wrong with it if that's what she wants." Feeling the wetness and rough texture of her tongue as she gave him a small lick after hearing his support of her actions, Ash moved both of his hands to the thick soft fur of her neck and stated massaging the skin beneath it causing her to quickly start to relax back into his touch. With her knowing his opinion of what she did, he decided to bring up something that he knew was probably on her trainer's mind. "So how do you feel going up against him again? I know that this probably isn't easy for you considering he was the final reason that you thought that you lost your spark."

"I'm not sure exactly how I should feel," she told him. "Part of me thinks that I should be worried about it considering everything, but for some reason it's not nearly as bad as I was thinking. In fact I'm kinda excited to go up against him again."

"Then that's a good thing May, it just means that you're getting back to your normal confidence level. Although it's only natural to go into the ring a bit nervous, you should never let it get to the point where it gets in the way of your match. You've beaten him in the past so there's no reason that you can't do it again. But if you want to get back to normal this is probably the biggest step that you'll need to take to achieve that. Even if it wasn't really his fault, he was still the one who made you finally assume that you lost your talent as a coordinator."

"Yeah you don't have to tell me that one. I can already tell I'm going to have a very good feeling when I beat him. But putting that aside, we need to check your bandages," she said as she grabbed for his left leg. "I forgot to change them this morning."

"May you don't have to worry that much…"

"Now Ash we need to keep it clean." Pulling his leg onto her lap, while being careful not to disturb the two Pokémon on his lap, she raised the pant leg to find a different bandage then the one she had put on.

"Like I said," Ash continued. "You don't have to worry that much. I can take care of myself."

"Did you use disinfectant?"

"It was scabbed over, I didn't need any."

Giving off a soft smile, she pulled his pant leg back down and allowed him to move his leg back as well.

"Alright fine," she conceded. "I'll stop checking, but just make sure that you keep it clean. I would feel awful if it got infected."

"Don't worry, I got it May. Although I do appreciate you worrying so much about me. Before we get to anything else tonight though, there was something that I wanted to give you."

Pulling a small bag out of his pocket, he handed it to the stunned brunette.

"It isn't much," he told her as the only expression on May's face was one of complete surprise. "It's supposed to be a thank you for the clothes and everything but it doesn't come close to how much you paid. They didn't have that great of a selection in the stores around town so I picked the one that looked like it would suit you best."

"Can I open it?"

"Of course."

It was a rather simple paper bag so it wasn't hard to get inside, but as she pulled the contents out her eyes went wide in excitement at what she saw. Holding it in her hand it was a silver rimmed hair clip with a very accurate depiction of a Butterfree on it created with semiprecious stones.

"Oh Ash, it's beautiful."

"Like I said, I was hoping to get something a little more comparable to what you bought for me so I hope you like it." Unable to look at her directly, Ash tried to make sure to at least get a good look at her reaction. "And I know you don't usually need to use hair clips very often, but if you ever decide to have your hair like yesterday it would make it easier to get the style like you would want."

"Don't worry, I love it Ash. But you didn't need to do this. I told you that I was paying you back for not only ruining your clothes you had on but causing you to lose the rest of them as well."

"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. I felt like I had to at least do something else for you in return for what you did for me."

Watching her as she closely examined the clip, the smile she had on and mood she was in made virtually all of Ash's worries melt away. And while he felt selfish for doing so, seeing her like that allowed him to come to a decision. The only thing he did know was that he didn't want to lose the chance to see her like this every day.

"Hey May? I have something that I think I should tell you."

Finally turning her attention away from the present, she looked up at Ash with one of the cutest smiles he could remember seeing. But then again, he had been finding that with many of her expressions as of late.

"What is it Ash?"

"I want to tell you…um…that I…" And it was that point where he stopped. Finding himself unable to actually find his voice and say what he wanted, the trainer felt as though he needed something to boost his confidence. So he chose to ask something instead that had been on the fringes of his mind for a few days now. He knew that should at least be something he wouldn't have problems saying.

"Hey May? When you were crying after we fell down that slope, why did you bring up the Sea Temple incident? I mean, sure there were plenty of times that I risked my life, but you seemed a bit more focused on that one."

"That's more of a question then telling me something," the brunette laughed, but her expression turned a bit more serious as she looked towards the sky and thought back to that moment. "Well, I said that because for me it was always one that stood out above all the others. You've always been one to risk your life for your friends or what you think is right, and many of those times included me getting into the wrong situations," she warily added.

"But you always came back to us. Not always in the best of shape, but you still came back. It was that time I really thought that I might not be able to see you come back with that goofy smile on your face saying that it was nothing. You put the three of us into that pod to keep us safe while you ran off into the temple, risking your life once again without even a second guess. But in this instance if you didn't get it right there would only be one casualty, yourself. And right after you left the water covered the door, meaning that I couldn't follow you no matter what. As the water continued to rise I couldn't stop worrying about you. There was just a bad thought in the back of my mind telling me that that was the last time I would ever see you and it didn't want to stop reminding me. To make it even worse, it seemed that it was once again to protect me, and because of it I may have just been the one to send you to your death. I may have never admitted it before, but you do mean a lot to me Ash. You've done more for me then I could ever recount or even pay back, and most importantly you're the one friend I never want to lose."

"_I guess it's a good thing I never told her what really happened down at the Sea Crown."_

Joking aside, Ash felt even more nervous then when he started. Sure, with the gentle smile she was giving him told that she really meant that he was special to her, the fact that she added that last line only brought back his initial fears of her reaction to him saying what he wanted.

"Well actually May, there's something else I should probably say. I… I …" Gulping hard, Ash could feel his mouth dry up and he nearly lost his voice. All he had to say were three simple words.

"Ash, is something wrong?

"No, I… I think that we should start training for tomorrow."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Ash was already mentally hitting himself.

"Oh." Seemingly confused as to the difficulty he had to say those words, May could only brush it off. "Um, sure. Where do you want to start?"

"I was thinking now that we know we aren't going up against each other in the next round, I could give you some specifics for the pair you chose. And I think Ivysaur could still use a little work if I'm to have a good prospect for the finals."

"Sure Ash, that sounds good to me."

Putting her smile back on, May got up and offered a hand to the trainer.

Before accepting the offer, Ash resituated the two Pokémon he had with him onto his shoulders. Grabbing hold of her outstretched hand, the trainer helped himself up, but wasn't expecting her to pull on his arm as soon as he got to his feet. Falling forward, Ash suddenly found himself embraced by the girl.

"I thought that a thank you wasn't enough for everything that you've done for me these last few days," she told him while lightly wrapping her arms around his chest. She did it more on a whim than anything, but to her surprise she found the seemingly friendly gesture rather comforting. She could even feel his heartbeat, it was running a little fast but she enjoyed it nonetheless as it accompanied the rising and falling of his broad chest. The only difficult part was when she knew she had to pull away or else it would look odd. "And not only that, but thanks for everything that you've ever done for me over the years. I don't even know how my life would have been if you weren't there that day I left Petalburg. The only thing I do know is that I probably wouldn't have enjoyed these last few years nearly as much as I have. And of course I really do love the hairpin Ash," May said at last as she released her grip.

"Yeah, no problem."

Ash was shocked at her choice of ways to express her thanks, but was in no way regretting it. Even if it was only for a moment, between the hug and the look on her face when she saw it, he was happy that he decided to take some time out from training that afternoon to grab it.

"Should we just go to the same spot we used yesterday?"

"Sound good to me." Walking up to her, Ash could still see the remnants of her thoughts on the Sea Temple incident on her face. Feeling guilty for having brought it up, the trainer, without even turning to her, said something that he hoped would at least boost her mood a bit. Even if he still wasn't sure if what he was basing it off of was true or not. "Cheer up May. If there is one thing I can promise to you, it's that I would never leave you like that. I don't want to have to see you like that ever again."

Speeding up his pace a little as to avoid a direct reaction from May, and to hide his own blush, he failed to notice that she stopped walking as soon as he said those words.

"_Why couldn't I say it?"_ He quietly groaned._ "It's three words, I love you. After seeing what it was like being on the other end of someone liking May I don't want to have to feel that again. And while I know it's selfish of me to think that, I want to be able to see that smile every day. As Dawn said, we can't just stay like this forever. I would be perfectly fine if we could, but at some point we would have to go our separate ways again and she may find a guy she likes while we're apart."_

"I need to say it," he quietly said aloud. "If I don't, I probably will regret it later. All I can do is hope that she actually does feel the same way. In the end though, my only real fear is still if I hurt her in the process. And I would never be able to forgive myself if I did."

"Pika."

"Vee."

From either side of his head, Ash felt the soft fur of his two passengers rub up against him.

"So I have the support from both of you, huh?"

Feeling the rubbing start to get ticklish, the trainer tried to suppress his laughter.

"I'll take that as a yes." Giving them both a scratch underneath their chin and not wanting to look back towards the brunette just yet, he looked up towards the darkening sky. "Thanks you two, I'm going to need all the help I can get."

* * *

><p>After the comment that Ash made to her, May was speechless. The way he said it was almost as if he was responding to what she said after coming out of the pod.<p>

"_I want to think that it's not, but I can't think of anything else that even comes close to coincide with what he just said. The strangest part is I know I never told anyone about that."_ Watching as Pikachu and Eevee rubbed up against either side of his face, May felt any anxiety that remained from those memories start to lift. _"Although I think I may have found my little squealer. Oh well, while I can't really describe it, those words really bring a strange sense of relief with them."_ Holding her hands over her chest, May couldn't deny that she enjoyed hearing that and repeated what he said inside her head.

"No, I know you wouldn't," she whispered quietly. "You'll always come back to me."

"You coming Angel?"

"Yep, right behind you Ash," she responded while jogging to catch up to him. It wasn't until May got up next to him and saw that goofy smile of his did she realize the name she had just answered to without thinking. Turning a bright red as she felt her heart start to race, the coordinator was at least quick with a comeback afterwards. "I know what you're thinking, and I only responded because you called out to me, not because of what you called me. Besides, what did I tell you about using that name?"

* * *

><p>Ah well that wasn't too bad in the end I guess. Thanks for reading, hope to see you guys back next time. The update will be up as always.<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

Well like I kinda said last chapter, Ash nearly took another big step forward but a few unknowing wrong words from May didn't help as much as he was hoping. Either way, the second night of the tournament is coming up. Welcome to chapter 23, and before we start thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter.

* * *

><p>Collapsing onto the bed, May was ready to fall asleep right then and there. Even after the sun went down, she and Ash continued with some last minute training until as late as they could allow. But with May's battle being as early as it was, they made sure to get back to the hotel by ten. She could still hear the water running in the bathroom, meaning that the boy was still in the shower. He was at least nice enough to allow her to go first and she took the opportunity to give Eevee a thorough washing. She noticed that he did the same with Pikachu and this was the first time she had a good chance to do it to Eevee.<p>

Looking over next to the TV she saw the vase of daisies that she prepared and set there only minutes ago. While they weren't all that impressive by flower standards, the small bouquet fit nicely in the room and the red and white pedaled flowers reminded her of a relaxing summer day.

"So you were able to find a vase for them in the end," Dawn said to her while lying back on the sofa. She still had Shinx out and was lightly petting his soft fur while Piplup watched from her shoulder. Enjoying the fact that he didn't have to go back into that ball just yet and just be able to spend more time with his mother, the little Shinx was purring loudly as the coordinator's hand slowly made its way from his mane, down his spine, and back again. "And I know each color is supposed to represent something just like most flowers; I just wish I could remember them because for some reason I feel as though the meanings fit. Oh well, they still look pretty good."

"Yeah they do, and I have Pikachu to thank for that," May added with a smile as she looked over at the Electric-Type who was lying down next to her.

"The rose has but a summer reign, the daisy never dies."

"Huh?"

Turning her gaze back to the blunette, May was a little confused by what she said. Realizing the sudden attention she got after saying that Dawn let out a light laugh to try and hide her embarrassment.

"It's a short poem I remember hearing once, and looking at those daisies reminded me of it. I like more than just Professor Oak's Pokémon poetry you know," she tried to defend herself as May's look didn't change. "But it's rather fitting though, isn't it? Considering of course that the rose Drew gave you is no longer in sight."

"Yeah that's thanks to the one on that side of me," the brunette motioned off towards Eevee. Who was of course not in the least bit regretting her earlier actions.

"Still, you don't seem all that worried about your battle tomorrow," Dawn told the other coordinator. "I was expecting at least a little apprehension considering he's not only one of your main rivals but the person that beat you and put an end to your time in the Johto Grand Festival. Not to mention the fact that in the end he also got third place in said festival."

Sitting back up to look at the other coordinator, her shifting weight caused Eevee and Pikachu to slide slightly on the sheets from either side of her towards her body. A bit of a surprise to both of them.

"Sorry guys." Picking up Eevee and letting the Electric-Type get into a comfortable spot next to her legs, May turned her attention back to Dawn. "Ash kinda said the same thing to me earlier, and like I told him so was I. But for some reason I feel perfectly fine. I think the lessons with Ash are starting to pay off. He helped me with a few new combinations that should work well and gave me advice on how I should try and go about my battle."

"You really have done a complete 180 from the time we got here. All that time you have been training with Ash seems to have paid off. He's really been trying hard to get you back to normal these last few days.'

"Yeah, he has," May said with a small smile. "Even if he's the one who needs the most practice for the appeal round, Ash has only been focusing on me. I've had to force him a couple times to remind him that he should try to help himself too while we are together training."

"That's because he wants to see you succeed. And from what I've seen and heard it's always been like that. While he did give me advice and help where I needed it, it wasn't to the level he did with you. You're lucky to have someone like him willing to help to that extent." Giving the brunette a few seconds to let it soak in, Dawn changed gears to bring back another question. "So, do you still think that being away from Ash wasn't the reason for your unlucky streak?"

"I can't say that it doesn't match up well, but I'm still not completely sure if it is actually the reason that I wasn't doing well in Johto. Whatever the reason may be in the end, I can tell that just being with him lifts my spirits and with a few words of his I feel I truly can do anything. Besides, if it really is because of not being with him, am I just going to follow Ash around for the rest of my career? Seems kind of ridiculous to me. Not to mention the fact that at some point Ash might actually get tired of me following him everywhere."

"I would doubt that one," the blunette said with a quick laugh. "From what I can see Ash loves being with you almost as much as you do with him and it would take quite a bit for him to leave you for such a simple reason as that. Yet you don't seem fazed by the fact that you might have to stay with him."

"Why should I? We traveled together for nearly two full years and I miss the times we had during those years. I think it would be fun to go out again, even if it might just be the two of us."

"So if we assume that your losing streak really is because of not having Ash's direct support, then what happens if Ash decides to go to a place that doesn't have any contests? Or, he decides to take the whole year off to help train for Sinnoh's Elite Four? Either way, the real point, is would you put off your coordinating to travel with Ash?"

Thinking for only a moment, May already knew her answer.

"If that was the case, then yes. If I could only perform well with Ash there next to me, then I would delay my coordinating career to spend time with him as a friend and try to support him until we get back to the chance that I could enter contests again. I would still hope that I would eventually be able to do well without him, but until that point I wouldn't mind putting it off."

"_Quick answer,"_ Dawn thought. _"If it comes down to it, I think Ash will like hearing this one. Hopefully I won' t need it, but with as timid as he is with worrying she'll choose him just for her career, this will really help him get over that bump in the road."_

"But what's with these questions? You make it sound like I would need to choose between the two at some point."

"No real reason," the blunette tried to reassure her. "To figure out if this is actually the reason that is causing you problems we need to get every angle. I'm just trying to help you out."

Even if it was nothing more than Dawn's random questions made to get May continuing to think about Ash, this time it unintentionally brought up another problem that the brunette was thinking about. Taking a look over at the bathroom door to make sure that Ash wasn't going to be coming out anytime soon, she turned her attention back to the other coordinator.

"Actually Dawn, I may just have to choose between them sometime soon."

That line caught Dawn by surprise and her slightly upbeat mood turned off real fast as she tried to comprehend exactly what that meant.

For May this was a bit of a calculated risk. The last time she shared something with the blunette that she didn't want to tell Ash right away about it almost appeared as if she blabbed about it only hours after learning it. Although Ash later told her that he learned it on his own without her help, she still wasn't sure how to take it all simply because it matched up too perfectly. But she had to at least share it with somebody or the seemingly simple question felt like it would eventually consume her.

"And what do you mean by that?" Dawn carefully asked, slightly worried that it was something that she had accidentally created.

Looking back down at Eevee in her lap, May could only use her to help get it out. Considering the decision, her ribbon wouldn't have been much help.

"Please don't Ash about this just yet. but after you and Ash left earlier tonight Drew asked if I wanted to travel with him in Sinnoh after the contests here. He said that for me to get back into coordinating again it would be best to get help and instructions from a real coordinator and offered to be the one to give that help."

As soon as she heard that the Sinnoh native's brain was going into overdrive. She thought she understood the implications about what the boy had offered and it wasn't something that she had initially planned for. After all the time they had without Ash in Johto she felt confident that Drew wasn't going to make a move himself, and she hadn't put much thought into the idea that this would happen.

"So what do you plan to do then?" Dawn asked the brunette, trying to at least stall for some time as she put everything together. "Because Ash wouldn't be able to stand traveling with Drew for any length of time."

"_For more than one reason right now,"_ she silently added.

"Yeah I understand that all too well, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I just got back together with Ash after nearly a year away from him and I was thinking that I could stay a little longer even after this. But what if Drew is right?"

"Then that would mean that Ash has been bringing you down instead of helping you," Dawn answered without much enthusiasm.

"Yeah."

Both Eevee and Pikachu were not happy at the topic either. One of the two already knew about it but that didn't mean that it was any less irritating at the thought of having to travel with that boy instead of Ash and Pikachu.

Thinking quickly the blunette relaxed slightly as she knew how to try and resolve it in a way that would seem natural, and it shouldn't put any further dents into her plan.

"In that case, what do you really think about it May? Do you think that everything Ash did for you only was detrimental? Do you regret having him being the one to teach you?"

"Of course not! Even if I could relive my life a thousand times I would never change that. He may have not been the best teacher in some terms but he was always patient with me and always went out of his way to help me when I needed it. Even if he wasn't a coordinator I couldn't have asked for a better teacher."

May hated the idea that Ash was the reason for any of her faults. Just like her original assumption when Dawn brought up the idea that it was the loss of him being there to physically support her that caused her problems in Johto, she felt like it was an act of betrayal thinking that way.

"Then there is the start of your answer already. Part of what Drew is saying is that you are different from other coordinators, which is undeniably true, but the real question is do you think that's a bad thing? There is also truth in the fact that a coordinator would be a better teacher for you than a league trainer, but as it is it just means that your area of expertise lies more in the battle rounds than the appeals." Taking a second to collect her thoughts on the matter, the blunette started to summarize it as best she could. "Either the reason that I gave you or the one Drew gave you could be part of the reason that you were unable to perform well in Johto, but there is one major difference. If what Drew is saying is right then that means you shouldn't have done well in the Hoenn and Kanto Grand Festivals as well. While having Ash teach you instead of another coordinator probably put you at a slight disadvantage at the start it means nothing now that you have real experience in the area. Although in the end it can only be decided by you May."

"Thanks Dawn," the brunette said as what she said started to sink in. Finally reaching down to grab hold of her ribbon half to get that familiar sensation, May felt the smile return to her face. "Guess I just got a little flustered when I came to the same conclusion that you did after hearing what Drew said. But that still doesn't change the fact that he could help me quite a bit by teaching me."

"That's also assuming my own theory on your bad performance isn't true. If it is then that means nothing he could ever teach you would help. But onto other more interesting topics, Drew seemed somewhat interested in you today at dinner. After learning that, are you sure that you aren't going to change your opinion on him? Because you could even take the offer of you two traveling together as an initiation to get closer to you."

"What is it with you and consistently turning the issue to that of love?"

Looking at the blunette, May only saw the curious smile that she had on. Though for Dawn that was the second nail she wanted to drive in to discourage the other coordinator from choosing to go with Drew. She now thought she was able to nearly completely understand each one's thoughts about the other, and with May wanting to avoid a relationship with the green-haired coordinator it could only help her position.

"What can I say? I like hearing about it and wonder what it feels like myself, don't you?"

"Not that I don't think about it as well, it's just that I don't see myself finding someone like that while consistently moving around as I am." Rubbing on Eevee's soft fur, she remembered when this was a topic that was on her own mind all the time too. Planning her future wedding, imagining the perfect groom, didn't every girl do this at some point in their lives? "But to answer your question, no. While he is one of my closer guy friends, I still only see problems with us both competing for the same ribbons and title. While it could no doubt still work, it only puts unneeded pressure onto the relationship. That and he is a little harsh at times, doesn't seem like the most dependable person in various situations, Eevee for some reason has an extreme dislike for him…"

"He's a narcissist," Dawn added in for her.

"Not my choice of words but I guess it does fit him rather well," May said with a small giggle. "To put it simply, until one of us quits coordinating, that one thing will probably continually keep me seeing him as only a friend and rival, nothing more."

"So you're saying that you want someone more like Ash."

"There you go again, putting words in my mouth. I never said that."

"Really? From what I can see you just listed off several features of Ash right there while you were saying what Drew lacked. He's a league trainer so you usually don't have to worry about competing against him, Ash is very calm and understanding in virtually every situation, he's dependable, as was shown only a couple days ago, and Eevee seems to love him to death."

Sure she may have been stretching it a bit, but Dawn knew that once the association was brought up it would be hard to forget.

"If I didn't know better I would say that you were trying to set me up with Ash, Dawn," May said to the girl. "I thought that you had interest in him as well."

"As well? So you do think of him like that."

Realizing her slip of tongue, May quickly turned bright red.

"You're only trying to change the topic," she demanded. "This is just like that one night, as I said then too, he's just one of the boys that I'm closest to. I do not love Ash!" Though as she said that, May found herself glancing over at the bathroom door. Almost as if she wanted to make sure Ash didn't hear her comment. "So, returning to the matter at hand, don't you?"

"I have my eye on him, yes," Dawn admitted. "But I think in the end I see him more as a big brother than a boyfriend. Then again, who knows? I may very well eventually see him like that. Like you I won't have too many options in boys from moving around so much so I have to consider any one that I see rather often. Besides, like you I think Ash would be quite the catch. As I've already stated, he's kind, considerate, thinks of others before himself, great with Pokémon, and while not the most handsome guy around he isn't bad looking. The only real problems are that he is somewhat single-minded and girls are usually not on that same rail as his Pokémon so perusing him would be rather frustrating. Now if he actually found a girl that he likes, I would say that they would be one lucky girl. All of his plus sides without having to worry about one of the major problems."

With all these comments about Ash becoming a boyfriend to one of the two girls May's mind couldn't help but go back to her small conversation with Eevee earlier that day. Between the fact that Dawn kept on pressuring the idea of love it was hard to ignore the fact that she nearly unconsciously accepted the fact that she wouldn't mind having Ash as a boyfriend, even if she wasn't apparently alone in that thought. But the fact remained that it was hard for her to think of Ash as her boyfriend because for the longest time he was her irreplaceable best friend and mentor. There was still one thing that came to her mind though after hearing Dawn, if he viewed his relationship with Dawn as brother/sister, how did he view her? Was it how she looked at it, how it was with Dawn, or something else entirely? And of course there was still the topic of Dawn's feelings. May felt oddly relieved at hearing the way that the blunette viewed her relationship with Ash, but the fact that she also said that it was possible that it could go further brought a little anxiety along with it.

Before May could respond to the other coordinator, Ash walked out of the bathroom with his sleeping wear on.

"Ah, that felt good," he said while tossing his towel back into the bathroom. "Are you guys ready to go to sleep or are you planning on talking for a while longer?"

"Nope, I'm ready." Sliding down off the sofa, Dawn got into her sleeping bag and made herself comfortable with Piplup and Shinx right next to her. Though initially put down next to the sleeping bag, the Electric-Type made his way completely into the bag without the slightest hesitation. Turning around and poking his head out next to his mother, the newborn relaxed his body as he curled up with the blunette's arms wrapped around him.

The small blue penguin wasn't entirely happy with how the new baby was taking up Dawn's attention. Sure it had been a long time since Dawn slept like that with her but it was just slightly unsettling watching that. Jealousy wasn't something that she was used to but it was starting to hit full force. The only thing that calmed her nerves was the fact that Shinx at least was staying in his Pokéball during the day.

"May?"

Taking one last look over at Dawn, the brunette could only shake her head wondering what she was really thinking.

"Yeah, I'm good."

Turning off the lights, Ash slipped under the covers right after May.

After the humans said their goodnights, Eevee moved over to where Pikachu was already settling down. With only a slight hesitation, she walked up and curled in with him without so much as a word.

At first a little surprised at her forwardness compared to last night, the electric mouse put up no resistance as she pushed her way in next to him. He was already confronted with her newfound confidence earlier that day and didn't have anything bad to say against it. With a large yawn Eevee rested her head up next to his and blissfully fell asleep in an instant. Unable to resist the smile that came to his face at seeing her like that, Pikachu nestled up closer to her and likewise fell asleep as well.

* * *

><p>To Ash the view was perfect, the morning sun was just peaking over the hills and a low lying mist hung over the valleys that the hills created. Sitting next to him on the grass was May, watching as everything unfolded before them.<p>

"Thanks for bringing me out here Ash; it's been a long time since I've seen something this beautiful."

"It's my pleasure May, I'm just glad that you are enjoying it."

Beginning to reach his hand out to grab hers, Ash second guessed himself several times before finally letting his hand rest on top of her own. To his surprise he felt May entwine her fingers in his. Her hand felt so small compared to his but it was soft and warm.

"_This is the time Ash,"_ the trainer told himself. _"Everything is perfect; she's happy, the location works, you're all alone. If you want to ask her, do it now."_

"May? I think now is a good time to tell you something."

"What is it Ash?" She asked, turning to him with her usual happy smile.

"May, it may have taken a while but I'm now sure that I can say it." Taking a deep breath, Ash looked out over the landscape to try and calm himself enough to finally say what he needed. "May Maple, I think I've fallen in love with you."

Not hearing an answer, the boy looked over at May who was still smiling at him.

"May?"

Her lips moved, her hair blew in the wind, she squeezed his hand, but no sound came from her.

"Angel?" He asked again. He thought at least using that name would get a response from her, but he couldn't hide the growing concern in his voice. "I can't hear you, what did you say?"

Changing from happy disposition to that of worried, May's face and lips once again moved but no sound came from them.

"May?"

As Ash watched her, the brunette's face started to blur and fade out. Before they completely vanished, he could just barely make out her mouthing out two words that looked to him like 'I'm sorry'.

"May!"

Taking his free hand to place on her opposite shoulder, Ash pulled her so that she was facing him. As he did her hair started to fade to the point where he couldn't distinguish it anymore.

"May!"

Right before his eyes she continued to disappear until the only thing left was the feeling in his hand that was holding on to hers. Before long even that vanished and his hand only felt cold.

Holding that hand up to his eyes, he couldn't believe what he just saw. As the sun rose higher in the sky two people began to appear out of the mist hand in hand, one boy and one girl. Both were faceless but the way the girl's hair was told Ash that it couldn't be anyone but May.

As he tried to call out to them, Ash found his voice unable to work, and as he tried to stand up to go to them his legs refused to move.

Even if they didn't have a face, from just their body language he could tell that they were happy. He couldn't make out the boy that May was with, but the more he tried to focus on him, the form started to shift. As a certain coordinator came to mind, Ash could start to see more features that only made him associate the two together and thus the faster it started to resemble him.

Trying more desperately to call out her name, Ash could only watch as the two walked right past him and away.

* * *

><p>"May!"<p>

Bolting up from bed, Ash found himself in a cold sweat and panting heavily.

"What is it Ash?"

Looking over next to him, the girl whose name he just called out was starting to sit up as well, groggily rubbing her eyes and looking at the trainer. For some reason Pikachu and Eevee were still fast asleep. But as everything started to become clear again the trainer realized that it was nothing but a dream that he saw. A nightmare to be more exact, but at least it wasn't real.

"Sorry May," he said to her as she gave off a large yawn. "Guess I just had a bad dream."

"What are you two still doing up?"

Turning his eyes over to the other side, Ash found Dawn turn onto her side and gaze at him with half-asleep eyes. Taking a good look at the trainer, she yawned once and turned back around.

"I know you two like each other and all, but if you are going to sleep together can you at least do it quietly enough not to wake me up in the process? Or better yet wait until I'm not here and you're alone, then you can have all the fun you want. Now, if you would please stay quiet at least until I'm back asleep, I would be very grateful." Giving one last yawn as she pulled the still sleeping Shinx in closer, she muttered something that Ash just barely caught. "Maybe I got them a little too comfortable with each other."

"We are not…!" Stopping his sentence right there, Ash turned bright red. "May, please help me out here."

"We can have fun later Ash, right now I want to sleep."

Watching the other coordinator also turn over it wasn't long before she was out.

"Do either of you even know what you're saying?" Finding no response, Ash could only give a deep sigh. "All this for a single emotion, I'm not sure if I can handle it anymore. To make it even worse I now have _that_ on my mind along with everything else. I need to first worry about actually confessing before I can even allow my mind to go there." Watching the reason for this confusion, the trainer once again could only think how beautiful she looked in her sleep. She looked so comfortable and natural, and while it may have been his imagination she seemed to be closer to the middle right next to their Pokémon, as well as himself, compared to the night before. He didn't even notice that he himself wasn't on the edge of the bed either. There were only a couple feet in between the two teens with only their sleeping Pokémon separating them. "But then again, I can't say that it wouldn't all be worth it in the end."

Leaning over and running his hands through her hair, he wasn't sure what his fascination with it was, but the soft feeling along with the fact that she seemed to enjoy it somewhat as she smiled in her sleep didn't make him worry too much as to why he liked it. Although Ash still made sure to stop after the one stroke. No matter how much he enjoyed it, just doing the action still made him feel guilty considering she was completely asleep while he did it.

"_I really have it bad for her, don't I?"_

Even if it made him feel even guiltier than running his hand through her hair, looking at May sleeping like that brought something to his mind and the more he thought about it the less he could resist because curiosity was getting the better of him. Gulping slightly, he carefully leaned over their two Pokémon again and after a moment or two of hesitation gave her a light kiss on top of the head. It wasn't as he always imagined it, but even if it wasn't her lips he still found the action rather enjoyable.

"Goodnight Angel," he whispered as he pulled away. "I love you."

Smiling slightly as he noticed another small smile of her own come to her lips and curling up into the pillow more, he gave off a light sigh.

"_Why couldn't it have come out that easily earlier tonight? I can say it without any trouble when nobody is listening, but when she was looking right at me waiting for me to say something I choked and couldn't say a thing. I've decided that I should probably tell her, but I didn't realize how hard it was to actually say it. I swear this love thing is more complicated than I thought. I hate to say it but Dawn was right about the difference between her and Pikachu. First figuring out if I did or didn't have those type of feelings for her was hard enough, then I had to deal with whether or not I should tell her, and finally actually figuring out not only how to tell her but actually getting enough words out to say it. Part of me just wishes that I never had to deal with this in the first place."_ Taking one last look at the brunette next to him, he could feel the familiar comfort returning that he always felt while being near her. _"Then again, another part of me wonders why I didn't figure it all out until now."_

Deciding that there was nothing that he could even do about it now anyways, Ash looked over at the clock to see the glowing digital number read 4:29. Knowing that he would have to be up in a few hours for May's battle, all the trainer could do was try to fall back asleep.

* * *

><p>Thankfully for Ash he didn't seem to have any more dreams after that last one, or at least none important enough for him to remember. Giving off a quick stretch, he found no trace of May, Dawn, Shinx, or Piplup but he did hear the shower running and the two lovebird Pokémon were still sleeping next to him. Glancing over at the clock he saw that it was just a little before eight, about an hour before May's match. Plenty of time, but he still needed to get out of bed.<p>

After another ten minutes of debating, Ash finally got the will to pull himself out of the warm covers and stretch his arms and legs. Heading over to the dresser where he put the clothes that May had bought for him, he got out the newer outfit that she picked out; the black jeans, red shirt, and white button up shirt to go over it. Although she had gotten him both a long and short sleeve version of the white shirt, he still chose the long sleeved one. He was healing fast from the injuries he got a few days ago but his arms were still scratched all up and many scabs remained. It wasn't painful or anything, just unsightly. Especially when he had to consider that there would be another appeal round today and the properness of the trainer is somewhat taken into account as well on that.

Still not completely onto the idea of changing his look that much after nearly three and a half years of being in a sweatshirt, he decided to put the clothes on anyways, if only for May's sake. Like he said to her, it wasn't that he didn't like the look of them; it was simply out of his normal comfort zone. At least she bought him new gloves to with them, without his hat they were now the last thing he kept from his original look all those years ago.

Before he did though, he needed to change his bandage on his left leg. Although it was for his own health, if he forgot to do it and May found out she would be back to mothering him to make sure that it would get done. Unlike the other wounds he knew that one would take a lot longer to heal. With those adhesive stitches that May used it was healing nicely like the others but it was still deep. At least his limp was far less noticeable than it was originally and the pain from when he stepped on it was just a dull twinge that hit with every step.

After that was done it didn't take long to get out of his shorts and t-shirt he slept in and into the new clothes.

"You look good in those."

Turning around as he finished putting on the white shirt, Ash saw May walk out of the bathroom in her usual attire, except that her hair was still wet and slightly tangled in places.

"With your new status you needed a change of look, and you look exactly like a mature champion should look like."

"Thanks, you were the one to pick them out after all. Though you might want to fix your hair," he added with a chuckle. "If that was Dawn looking like that she would never have even gotten out of the bathroom."

"Usually I don't like other people seeing me like this either, but I get the feeling that I don't have it as bad as Dawn."

"Usually?"

"You're one of the exceptions to the rule. I don't mind if you see me like this Ash," she told him with a smile. "I know that you wouldn't seriously make fun of my hair no matter how it looked."

After dropping off a few things and grabbing a couple more, she walked back into the bathroom to finish up.

"Of course I wouldn't make fun of your hair. It looks great no matter how you have it," he said to himself quietly. He stopped being surprised at the thoughts that came to his head these last few days from just looking and interacting with May. Sure the Ash of a week ago would have a hard time even getting those ideas forced into his head, it might have been just because he was in denial or even maybe everyone was right in that he was rather dense on the topic. Either way the fact that these thoughts came to his head without any effort on his part compared to how he used to be just supported his decision on his feelings for her.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, Ash decided that it was time to wake up the last two sleeping members.

"Okay you two, time to wake up."

Shaking them slightly, Pikachu was the first to drowsily look up at him and give off a large yawn.

"We're going to go eat before heading off to May's match so you might want to wake Eevee up."

Watching as Pikapi grabbed his toothbrush to finish up his own routine with May, Pikachu gave one last yawn before stretching a bit. Most of the times he was never a big morning person but he never had too much of a problem getting up when needed.

Nudging Eevee a couple times, the only response that he got was a few stirring groans and her shifting positions. Voting against using the electric method again to wake her up, he decided to try something new. Using his tail, he gently started rubbing it up against her nose. Pulling it away when one of her paws tried to bat away the nuisance, he eventually got her to wake up after a few repeated times of tickling her nose.

Giving off a yawn of her own, Eevee looked up to see a now fully awake Pikachu smiling down at her. Starting to stretch her own muscles, without even thinking the Normal-Type began to rub up against the underside of her partner's chin. Letting nearly her entire body length touch the spot, with her tail flicking up against his nose as her head came by on the other side to rub up against his electric sack, Eevee once again enjoyed the feeling as a rather revitalizing electric wave flowed through her body. Watching his reaction, Eevee quickly decided she liked this new method of waking up, if not only for her own comfort but his apparent delight too.

For Pikachu her sudden decision brought about unexpected pleasure. With the Evolution Pokémon rubbing up against him he could once again feel her warm body as she passed by that apparently sensitive spot. But there was something else about it that he couldn't explain; it made him feel very relaxed and excited at the same time, especially as her tail brushed up along his nose the second time as she walked past him. Snapping out of the trance that he was apparently in, he walked over to Eevee and sat down next to her while she did some minor grooming.

When their trainers came out of the bathroom, it was May who seemed surprised to see both Pokémon up and ready as they made their way up onto the humans' shoulders.

"Wow Eevee, that almost has to be a new record," she said in almost pure amazement. "I don't think that you've ever woken up that fast before. It usually takes me ten, twenty minutes before you look like this."

"Vee!"

"Ash, I have to know, how did you do this?"

"It wasn't me," he said to her while holding his hands up in innocence. "She was still asleep when I joined you."

"So it was you, wasn't it Pikachu?"

"Pika."

"I might have to keep you around for just that reason," she told him with a giggle and a gentle rub between his ears.

Hearing the lock to their room click open, Dawn walked in with Piplup on her head.

"Good, I see the two of you are awake and… dang Ash, nice clothes. I never thought I'd see you in something as casual as that."

"May picked it out for me." Spreading out his arms to get a full view, he looked down on it again to see what it looked like from his angle. "I'm still not completely used to it but I don't hate it."

"I still say we should buy you a necklace to go with that," May spoke up. "But that can wait for another time," she added after the annoyed glance from the trainer.

"Well either way, I found a nice place to eat before we head out," the blunette said to her friends.

"Great, I'm starving."

Taking the lead, May made her way to the door and out of the room. Before Dawn could join her, Ash put a hand on her shoulder.

"Dawn, could you explain what you said last night?" He asked in a low voice.

"Explain what? Goodnight? I thought even you knew about that…"

"No not that. What you said in the middle of last night, around four when you woke up and said something about May and I being in the same bed."

Giving him a confused expression, Dawn had no clue what he was talking about.

"I was asleep at that time Ash and I don't remember waking up at any time before morning. You sure you weren't dreaming?"

"I'm fairly sure at least."

"_Not exactly what I was expecting but I can't complain,"_ Ash thought to himself. _"But that doesn't bode well for what she dreams about if she says those kinds of things when she's essentially asleep."_

"So what did I supposedly say if you have to ask me about it?" Dawn asked, putting on one of her innocent smiles. "Because there has to be a reason you're asking it."

"Nothing important. Now come on, we need to catch up to May."

"You've got my interest now Ash, I want to hear it."

"Never in a thousand years Dawn."

* * *

><p>And Ash just gets more scared when he even considers what Dawn dreams about. Hope that you all enjoyed the chapter, next one will be up as planned and what many of you are probably waiting for, May's double battle with Drew. See ya then.<p> 


	24. Chapter 24

And here is one chapter that I know a few of you have been waiting for. It's still been a while thought since my last real battle scene so let's hope it isn't disappointing. Thanks of course to all those who reviewed last chapter, so onto May's double battle, chapter 24.

* * *

><p>After a good breakfast the three trainers and their Pokémon made their way over to the main stadium where the cheers could already be heard from the battle that was currently underway.<p>

"You ready for this May?" Dawn asked the other coordinator as they got to the point where they would need to separate.

"Ready as I can be. Ash gave me a few good lessons last night so I should be ready."

"Good luck out there May," Ash told her while putting a hand on her free shoulder. "Although I doubt you'll need it."

"Thanks Ash."

"Actually, did you want to take Pikachu with you? Another personal cheerleader couldn't hurt. Besides, Eevee probably wouldn't mind."

"Pi." Glaring at his trainer, the Electric-Type wasn't fond of the suggestion. The cheerleading comment only made him remember some of the times in Sinnoh where Dawn had dressed him up in one of her cheerleader outfits. He had gone along with it then just to please the blunette, but he still disliked the idea of clothes in general.

"No that's okay Ash; I'm fine with just Eevee. Thank you though"

"Anytime May," he said to her with his usual confident smile he gave whenever she entered a battle. "Knock 'em dead." Giving the expression a second thought, the trainer couldn't help but laugh. "Then again I wouldn't mind if you took it literally."

Hissing in sight pain as the coordinator punched him hard in the shoulder; he still couldn't stop chuckling after it.

"Or not," he added while rubbing the spot she hit him.

"Don't worry I missed the cuts," she told him with a calm smile.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side anytime soon," Ash said while finally stopping his laughter. "But seriously, win this."

"You bet."

Giving them one last wave, May began to make her way over to the trainer prep room.

After showing her registration card to the person at the door, May entered the room to find about 14 trainers sitting around. Most of them were watching a TV screen showing the current battle out on the field.

Glancing at her Pokétch she noticed that she was still about 20 minutes early but didn't see Drew anywhere in the room. It wasn't until the 10 minute mark that she finally saw him walk in. Noticing her right away, the green haired coordinator walked up beside her. And as before Eevee was glaring at him as soon as he entered the room. She kept back her growling because May always got mad at her when she did, but if the boy came too close for comfort to either of them she didn't care what her trainer would say.

"Before we start I think I should give you this for good luck," he told her as he pulled out one of his long stemmed roses and handed it to her. "I want our battle to be as great as possible, even if the odds are currently not in your favor."

"Thanks Drew, but I intend to win this."

"Vee," her Pokémon agreed.

"It hasn't even been two weeks since I beat you the last time. Are you sure that you've improved that much in that short time?"

"I'm not the same person you went up against in Johto," May told him with confidence that she wasn't even sure where she was getting it from. "Ash has given me plenty of suggestions and training so that I can win today, and along with my friends right here in the stadium I can't lose."

Reaching into her pocket to feel her ribbon in there, the brunette knew that this time it wasn't just that lone object that was giving her strength. Ash and Dawn were out there watching her as well, and cheering their hardest while supporting her.

"I still don't understand why you insist on getting help from Ketchum," Drew sneered slightly unconsciously. "As a trainer he has virtually no idea as to how a coordinator should battle. If anything you should get help from other coordinators like me."

"Ash knows more than you think Drew," May shot back at him while defending her friend. "When I said that I wanted to be a coordinator he went out of his way to learn what he needed to know to help me. He may not be a coordinator but he has more than enough experience as a trainer to be able to help me. If it was him battling you today, you would last even less then the time it takes me to beat you. I saw how you reacted to Pidgeot yesterday, and while I may not know what he has planned I can tell you that it will be impressive."

"But it's not him I'm battling, it's you. I just hope that you didn't forget my offer of helping your skills up in Sinnoh. I'll be waiting for an answer by the end of the day." Giving her a cocky smile, Drew began walking away. "See you on the battlefield."

"We'll just have to show him, won't we Eevee?"

"Vui!"

Noticing that the Normal-Type was eyeing the flower in her hand more than paying attention to the conversation, May gave off a light sigh.

"I know, I know. Here."

Putting the rose down to her level, Eevee wasted no time in taking a quick snap and took off the entire bulb in one bite. Chewing a few times, she spit out the petals off to the side before looking back up at her trainer with a large smile and relaxing back into May's lap.

"I still don't understand why you insist on doing that," she said while looking at the now flowerless stem. After a few seconds she couldn't help but crack a smile as well. "But I can't deny that it is kinda funny at times. Besides, we already have our lucky charm, don't we?"

"Vee," the small Pokémon agreed with an adamant nod. Glancing over to where her trainer always kept said lucky charm, Eevee nudged her blouse pocket a few times in an effort to get May to take it out.

Laughing slightly at her partner's actions, May pulled her half of the Terracotta Ribbon out and held it out in front of her, relishing in her reflection from the pristine surface. She was only getting closer to her rematch with Drew, and this was now the real test to see if she could get back to her former self. For now she had to put off the decision of whether to follow Ash or Drew until after this contest was over.

Eevee had always known that that ribbon could almost constantly pull May into a better mood; the Normal-Type was only now truly starting to understand why it did it. Even if she too liked looking at its polished surface, she wanted her trainer to take it out this time to help remind her of the boy it represented and to bring that great mood back out after needing to see Drew.

* * *

><p>The remaining time that May had left before her battle seemed to fly by, and in no time she could hear hers and Drew's name being called.<p>

Walking out into the arena next to her rival, May had to shield her eyes as the bright light from outside met her and everything opened up into the primary Auburn Stadium. Soon after the cheers rang out once again as she and Drew went to their places. Obviously with everything now centered in the stadium the spectators were now coming out in droves to watch the matches, and the size of the stadium was comparable to that of the Grand Festivals she had been to.

"We bid welcome to our next two trainers, Drew LaRousse and May Maple. Decided from random selection, Miss. Maple, would you please send out your Pokémon first. There are seven minutes on the clock; first trainer to lose both Pokémon or lose all their points is out."

"Good thing that Ash had me choose my Pokémon beforehand," May told Eevee as they got to their spot. "Otherwise I might have been a little worried about which ones I'd choose to go up against Drew." Pulling out her two Pokéballs, May tossed them out on the field.

Popping open with their typical red light, two Pokémon appeared as the light dimmed. The first, a large turtle-like Pokémon with two hydro cannons poking out of its shell was actually one of May's most timid at one point. Now in her final evolution she was proud and that timid nature was replaced with that more suiting for her new stature as a Blastoise. Despite being not even half the height of its partner, the Big Eater Pokémon that appeared next to the Water-Type was much heavier. But with weight came physical power to assist with Blastoise's special attacks. She was a bit more of a handful, but she was able to come through when he needed.

"Interesting combo May," Drew called out. "In that case, I choose these two."

Throwing out two of his own, the two Pokémon that came out were much different than their opponents. Both were insect-like in their appearance. One was already flying, it had was could almost amount to goggles over its eyes and green skin going all the way up into its wings and down along its long tail. With the red outline of the wings and tips of the tail it was a slightly intimidating sight to witness. The other was land bound and standing on four yellow and purple stripped legs connected to a slightly bulbous body and it was no less frightening to look at for those with arachnophobia. Armed with powerful pincers and a potent poison, it was no less dangerous.

"So we have Blastoise and Muchlax versus Flygon and Ariados. Our trainers look to be ready people, so start the clock!"

"Blastoise start this off with Rapid Spin towards Ariados!" May called out. "Munchlax, SolarBeam at Flygon!"

Pulling her limbs back into her shell and taking off in a spin, Blastoise did as she was told and started speeding across the open arena towards her target while her partner opened her mouth wide to allow globules of green energy to collect in it in preparation for her own attack.

"Flygon take to the air, Ariados use String Shot to stop Blastoise in its tracks." Calmly ordering his Pokémon, Drew seemed almost indifferent to the attacks coming at him

Rearing up to fire the shot of webbing, Ariados touched one side down to the ground and launched the other end at the giant spinning turtle. As it neared the Water-Type, the web proved to be unable to take hold of the speeding shell due to the air pressure created from the speed of her rotation as the thread hovered over the shell and slid right off.

"Ariados jump aside!" Its trainer quickly called out as he noticed the failed attack and the slight drop in his points. "Start using Spider Web to spread your web further!"

As the Long Leg Pokémon deftly dodged the spinning turtle, Munchlax's SolarBeam finished its charge and with a flash of light was shot at the dragon that was currently hovering in the air.

"Dodge it Flygon and use Gust to slow down Blastoise!"

Without much apparent effort, Flygon decreased its altitude enough to start his own attack and allow the powerful beam to pass by harmlessly. Blasting his target with a powerful gust of air created from his rapidly beating wings, Blastoise, who was in the process of turning around to move at Ariados again, was blown completely off course and into one of the side walls.

"Blastoise!" May called out to her Pokémon as it hit the wall hard causing a small cloud of dust to rise up from the location. She could hear the noise indicating that she too had lost points, but that didn't matter to her as she saw the Shellfish Pokémon almost immediately spin back out of the cloud and back on target with almost no indication of being hurt by the impact.

"He's focusing on Blastoise," she said to Eevee. "I guess he doesn't consider Munchlax much of a threat, but without many ranged attacks I almost have to swap their priorities and have them change targets. I just hope that Munchlax can deal with those webs…those webs!"

"Toise!"

Putting her attention back to the field, May realized her lapse of awareness had just caused a huge mistake. With the extra bit of time allowed by the Gust attack Ariados had wove several thick anchoring threads, nearly half a foot wide each, spreading across the center of the field and Blastoise had just run into several of them. The reason she missed them until that point was because up until that point they were only lines that were slightly thicker than usual. Just before her attention was misplaced the Bug-Type had started to spin the lines together and had only a moment ago finished the thick strands. But thankfully for the moment her Pokémon was free from getting stuck thanks to the force of her spinning, even if she was unable to break through them.

"Wrap it up Ariados! And make sure to clog those water cannons!"

"Move away!"

Using its String Shot again, Ariados began to loop the strings around the Water-Type from its new position on one of the anchor lines. Like before, the Rapid Spin was providing a limited barrier by keeping the webs off, but Ariados just continued to throw the webbing on. As portions of it flew off from the spinning, they caught onto the ground as well as the anchors, preventing it from going any further and trapping it in a sticky net.

"Blastoise, get out of it!"

But the command was too late; having connected to the thicker anchoring webs the String Shot eventually got through the rotation enough to slow Blastoise down. After that point it was just a cascade as more webs caught onto the Pokémon, slowing it down further and allowing for more webs to catch. In no time she was completely covered in webs, unable to move at all. As soon as the Water-Type was caught, Ariados began expanding the web out on either side of the anchors creating a large net across the entire center of the field, cutting it in two with it and Blastoise in the middle of it all.

"Come on Blastoise, break out of it!"

But try as she might, there was just too many wrapped around her. And even if a few of the smaller ones snapped under her strength, everything else held strong.

May now knew that she was in trouble. Not only was Blastoise unable to move and she just lost her true powerhouse in this match, the very webs that restricted her now brought the battle entirely in Drew's favor. Muchlax had one ranged attack, and if she continued to use that back to back, losing points would be guaranteed. But moving in close wasn't much of an option either. With Flygon moving above the webs and Ariados freely moving within the maze of threads itself, she couldn't have her attack either. One was simply out of her reach while the other would just get her stuck in the webs too.

"Nice job Ariados," Drew called out with a confident grin on his face. "Now use Cross Poison on Blastoise to finish it off!"

"Blastoise, Withdraw!"

May knew that defense would only be temporary and she needed to figure something out quick. As Ariados tried to take its first bite into the Water-Type's hard shell, May figured that she only had a couple options. The first would delay them from attacking Blastoise, and the other she could only rely on luck.

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump. Muchlax, Metronome right at the webs!"

"With its jets clogged it can't do anything," Drew taunted. "Ariados try Bug Bite this time, Flygon DragonBreath on Munchlax!"

As Munchlax began to wave his fingers back and forth, Blastoise tried to open up the flaps to her hydro cannons. Luckily there weren't many threads around the openings and the cannons emerged without too much of a problem. The fact that each still had a clogging of webs meant nothing to her, once the water started to flow there was little that she couldn't blast away. All she needed was a little time to build up pressure.

While May's Pokémon were nearly ready with their attacks Drew's Pokémon were busy with their own. Unlike Ariados though, who had a hard time finding a spot to grasp with his pincers to deliver the attack, Flygon took a deep breath and unleashed a blast of air in what looked to be a beam of green energy at the concentrating Munchlax.

"Come on Munchlax," May quietly begged. "I need something good. Something fire would be best."

"Munchlax."

Just before Flygon's attack hit, the Big Eater Pokémon's two fingers stopped swinging. Dodging off to the side, away from the DragonBreath, Munchlax opened her mouth and launched the attack. To May's absolute horror, it was probably the last attack she wanted to see. As Munchlax took a deep breath, she began to spit out several long lines of sticky thread at the already large web, String Shot.

"Munchlax, try and at least get Flygon with the String Shot!" The brunette called out desperately, trying to lessen the already bad situation. As if continuing with her bad luck, by the time Munchlax could aim the thread to his opponent, the attack ended and all it did in the end was add to Ariados's already large web.

Drew was laughing in slight relief; Metronome was on his side this time. But that reprieve was short lived as the sound of roaring water began to tear apart his spider's web.

"Blastoise can cut through solid steel with her water cannons," May informed her opponent as the water cut through the bindings. "Those little webs won't stand a chance." Looking back at Munchlax, she saw that she was relatively fine. But the scoreboard said otherwise about her overall score. After all of the problems that she had gotten herself in, mainly with what was happening with Blastoise, May was now at half of her original points while Drew was sitting around two thirds of his. And with the timer just turning past the four minute mark, time was running out to make her comeback.

"Ariados, support those webs in places where its cannons can't hit! Make sure Blastoise stays where it is! Flygon, Flamethrower on Munchlax!"

Even with the threads being blasted apart like dry twigs, Blastoise couldn't get rid of enough of them to begin moving again. On the positive side, she was able to clear a cone of the webs out from in front of her, but it also prevented any further attacks from the front do anything to help. And with another attack coming at the Big Eater Pokémon, May was running out of options. She had to once again try and rely on one move.

"Hang in there Blastoise! Munchlax, let's use Metronome again at the webs. We need a fire attack!"

Putting her fingers out again and waving them back and forth, the attack finished just before the gout of flame from the flying Pokémon was about to hit. To May's partial relief it wasn't another String Shot that only helped her opponent, but as the heavyweight Pokémon took off at speeds it shouldn't have been able to achieve, the coordinator's optimism fell once again.

"Extreme Speed." As she recognized the attack, May once again could only try for damage control. "Munchlax, go right!"

But again, it was too late. Going faster than she could handle, Muchlax couldn't turn even if she wanted too. Rushing forward, the Normal-Type at least dodged the Flamethrower, but by driving right into the anchoring lines all that awaited her was entanglement in the snare. Unable to break through the thick webbing, she still was able to snap several of the stringers which fell down and around her as the web flexed under the impressive force of the Big Eater Pokémon ramming into it. When the power of the Extreme Speed attack died down, Munchlax found herself rebounding back and in the process spinning the poor Pokémon and gathering even more webs around her body. Finally trapping her upside down and facing away from the interior of the maze of threads in the same trap Blastoise was, she was looking very confused as to how she got there. Pulling at her arms and legs, Munchlax started flailing around to break through the bonds on her, yet with every move she only found herself getting further and further into the webs.

May could hear the tone of her points taking a major hit; she didn't even want to chance a look to see how low she actually was.

"That was my last option," she told Eevee. "I don't know what else to do. Although I can hope Drew will be stupid enough to try and use Flamethrower on Munchlax, I know it won't happen."

Looking to the stands, she couldn't see or hear Ash or Dawn among the many different people there. Putting her hand into her pocket to grab hold of her ribbon, May took a deep breath trying to calm herself down so she could come up with something.

"Flygon stay back," Drew called out. "Ariados, ignore Blastoise for now, it's not going anywhere. Use Cross Poison on Munchlax!"

Moving along the safety of inside its own webs, Ariados made his way over to its newly trapped victim.

"Munchlax, just try and get free!" May desperately yelled out. "You need to get out!"

"Lax."

Looking directly at her trainer, the Big Eater Pokémon gave off a small grin. Finally calming down just as the spider was nearly at her, Munchlax began to glow white and started to grow. After increasing her size by nearly four times the original, the light started to die down revealing the new and an incredibly heavy Pokémon in her place.

"Snorlax."

As Snorlax regained its senses, the sound of snapping webs was almost instant as the threads that were holding her in the air quickly gave way to the massive weight now on them. Barely able to keep from landing on her head, the entire stadium shook as the Normal-Type's body hit the ground. Sitting up, Snorlax could still feel the webs around her, but with many of them having broken under her new weight she was relatively free.

Both flabbergasted and excited at her Pokémon's change, May took out her Pokédex and pointed it at the creature. After a short time, the small computer chimed and started listing off the information in its databanks.

"Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokémon. The Evolved form of Munchlax. One of the heaviest Pokémon species ever discovered, Snorlax's typical day consists of nothing more than eating and sleeping. It is such a docile Pokémon that there are children who use its expansive belly as a place to play."

Also surprised by the sudden evolution of Munchlax, Drew knew he had to work fast while his opponent was still trying to understand her new body.

"Now Ariados, Cross Poison!"

Just feet away from its prey, Ariados closed the distance and bit as hard as it could into the backside of the giant Pokémon.

While looking at her new hands, Snorlax felt an odd stinging sensation behind her. Although it was more annoying than it was painful. Attempting to stand up, she found her balance severely off and lurched forward as she took several steps before falling flat on her stomach and continuing to roll right on her back once again causing the stadium to shake under her weight.

"Flygon, Flamethrower!"

Coming back up into the battle, the Mystic Pokémon let loose another blast of fire at the helpless Pokémon lying on the ground.

"Snorlax!" May yelled as her Pokémon was engulfed in flames. But to her surprise and joy, as they died down there didn't seem to be much of a change compared to before they struck.

Taking the direct hit, Snorlax wobbly got back to its feet, once again virtually unfazed by the attack. Though not nearly as much as the last one. Carefully turning around to face her opponents, she found a blob of purple viscous goo hit her right in the face.

"Direct hit with Sludge Bomb," Drew cheered. "That should slow it down."

Yet his good mood didn't last for long as Snorlax stuck out her tongue and licked up some of the poisonous sludge that covered her lips. Seemingly savoring the taste for a moment, a large smile overtook her face as she tried to lap up whatever she could and when her tongue couldn't reach anymore, she began using her hands to grab the last of it and lick it off her limb like a bear would lick honey.

"I guess she likes it," he said, unable to explain the Snorlax literally enjoying eating one of his stronger poison attacks.

May was just as speechless as Drew. Compared to Munchlax, Snorlax just took three attacks head on and barely even flinched.

"Due to its large size and many layers of fat, Snorlax is very resistant to many types of attacks," May's Pokédex chimed in again. "It will eat anything, even if the food happens to be moldy. This is due to its strong stomach acid's ability to dissolve any type of poison."

Chuckling out of pure amazement, May just went from next to defeated to once again having a chance at winning. She just had to remember what attacks Snorlax could use.

"Okay I know Ash has a Snorlax, what attacks did he use?"

As May was thinking about what to use, Snorlax apparently already knew what she wanted. Licking her lips once again, she started waddling across the field towards Ariados, who in her mind had so graciously given her that tasty snack and she wanted seconds.

"Ariados retreat back into your web!" Drew commanded, starting to worry about what to do with this wall of a Pokémon. "Flygon, Dragon Tail!"

"Um, attacks attacks." As Flygon descended May rattled her mind in trying to remember an attack that Ash's Snorlax used. Right before Flygon was about to hit, she finally remembered one. "Snorlax, turn to Flygon and rock onto your back, and then come back in with an Ice Punch!"

Hearing her trainer's voice, Snorlax temporarily forgot about the new snack. Turning to face the oncoming Dragon-Type, she found her balance in her new body was improving quickly. As the lightly glowing blue tail of Flygon swung at her in a wide arc, she leaned back and rolled onto her back in time for the attack to go right past her. Feeling the cold temperature start to build in her right hand, Snorlax rolled back onto her feet and gave a direct hit to the Pokémon hovering in front of her.

Hitting directly in the center of its body, the force of the Ice Punch set Flygon flying back and sliding across the ground and into the webs with ice crystals starting to build up from the spot it was struck.

"Flygon, get back into the air!"

"Hyper Beam!"

Taking a deep breath, the Sleeping Pokémon exhaled a powerful beam of yellow energy right at her target. Still stunned by the first powerful hit, Flygon could do nothing to avoid the second blast.

Engulfed in a large explosion, as the dust cleared the form of Flygon could be made out suspended and completely tangled in his ally's webs. The Pokémon was unmoving and it was obvious that the Dragon-Type wasn't getting back up. A buzzer sounded as the portrait of Drew's Flygon darkened and Drew lost a large chunk of points, although they were still above May's current total.

"I really can win this," May told herself as she stared at the scoreboard. "But I still need to take out that webbing. Thinking up a good motivator, the brunette called out her next command. "Snorlax, charge those webs! If you get to Ariados it'll give you more of that purple ooze to snack on!"

Turning back to the mass of threads, the Sleeping Pokémon saw that Ariados had already retreated into the relative safety of the center of its confines. But to Snorlax that didn't even matter, to her the prospect of more of that tasty food was too good to pass up.

Starting at a slow pace, the massive Pokémon became a living freight train as she charged at the webs.

"Ariados use String Shot to trip it!"

Drew knew he was in trouble if that thing was able to break the anchor lines. The entire strategy he had come up with was to immobilize and take the more powerful Blastoise out of the picture while taking them out one at a time. While Snorlax now posed a new problem, he couldn't let the Water-Type go, for its power was still probably greater than the newly evolved Pokémon.

Firing off a few threads at the charging Pokémon's feet, the Long Leg Pokémon was able to take advantage of its opponent's still complete lack of balance and cause it to stumble over her own feet and start to fall forward.

"Snorlax turn that into a roll and keep going!"

Falling onto her stomach, Snorlax tried to do as told and allowing the momentum to continue rolled the last amount of distance to the webs, picking up speed as she did.

Hitting them head on, one could hear the anchor threads groan in resistance and a sharp snapping as some of the thinner threads which were wound up to create the much larger anchor threads broke. But the barrier held strong, and the rest of the webs held on to their new prey.

"Snorlax, if you can get through those lines you can get a lot of delicious food!"

Edged on by the reminder of the food reward, the Normal-Type tried to move forward to the hiding Ariados. Much to her annoyance, between the sticky stringers running between the strong anchors, she couldn't make any real progress. Focusing on an Ice Punch attack again, Snorlax struck one of the thickest webs she could get to. To her continued annoyance the thread didn't break, but it did freeze over, and that gave May an idea.

"Blastoise, try and fire an Ice Beam from one of the other holes in your shell!" She called out. "Aim for the webs themselves, just freeze them all!"

To her excitement, Blastoise was able to do just that. From one of the holes for her rear legs, a globe of light blue began to form and fire off the frozen energy at the objects holding her down. As the webs started to frost over, Ariados quickly retreated to the far end of his domain.

"Just try and hold in there Ariados!" Drew said to his Pokémon. "We only have another minute before time runs out!"

Taking a quick look at the scoreboard, May noticed that all of this attacking of the webs and not Drew's Pokémon was bringing her points too close to zero. She needed to end it fast, and with their point difference as it was there was only one real way of doing that, knocking out Ariados. It seemed like an eternity but the frozen webs finally made it to Snorlax.

"Now Snorlax, Strength! Break out Blastoise by aiming at those big threads!"

Even with the air around her was far below zero; Snorlax was able to flex her large frame and the webs around her shattered like glass. Looking around, she found the threads that her trainer was probably talking about and with that same power smashed them all in half.

"Get up Blastoise, we don't have any time left to spare!"

Suddenly free of the strongest of the bonds holding her, the Shellfish Pokémon finally let her limbs back out of her shell. Putting as much power as she could spare into her muscles, she slowly got to her feet as the webs shattered around her, much to Drew's apparent horror. At the half minute mark, the Water-Type was fully erect and turning back around to face the bug Pokémon, a severe look of displeasure across her face.

"Now, Hydro Pump!"

Releasing her cannons from their hiding spot, she carefully aimed them at her target who was still well hidden within the remaining webs. But to her, the webs made no difference. Having been forced to sit there for the entire battle only able to feel the spider trying to bite down on her shell raised her frustration to new levels, and she wouldn't let anything get in her way of releasing that built up frustration. She was May's special attack powerhouse and took great pride in that, not wanting to add even one loss to her record. Compared to her original timid nature the now great turtle wasn't one to form grudges too quickly but after what she was just put through she would have her just revenge.

Only ten seconds before the match timed out, the powerful torrent of water began once more. Cutting through the webs as if they weren't even there, the two blasts of liquid hit their target head on and didn't stop until just before the final buzzer. When the tone did sound, Ariados was revealed to be out cold.

Immediately after hearing the buzzer May looked at the scoreboard to see that as of that point Drew was still noticeably ahead of her in points. But even if he had more points, the screen wasn't showing that it was his win just yet. Several tense moments passed as the officials deliberated over something before they finally made their decision.

To May's absolute delight she saw Ariados' portrait darken, and the screen changed revealing her to be the winner.

"That was a close call everyone, but after reviewing the footage, the judges have agreed that Ariados went down before the buzzer. And because of this, May Maple is the winner!"

"I won."

May could barely believe it. She had gotten so close to losing, but pulled off a literal last second win.

"I won!"

"Eevee vee!"

Noticing Drew walking towards her after withdrawing his Pokémon, the now ecstatic brunette went to greet him.

"I'm surprised May, you actually did win in the end. I wish that I had another rose to give you in congratulations, but I only brought one today."

"Right," she said, trying to hold back the nervous laughter, though her happy grin was impossible to hold back. She didn't think she should tell him that she already threw away the first rose. "Well thanks Drew. So, do you still think that Ash is a bad teacher?"

"You barely won," he responded with a flick of his hair. "I'll admit that you're back to your old self but beating me by that margin isn't enough to convince me otherwise. And the fact that you have that influence from a league trainer it's no surprise that the battle round would be your strong point. I will join you in watching Ketchum's battle though. I want to see if his name is as good as I've heard, and I want to see the so called champion in action."

"Well I'm sorry to say but you're going to be a little disappointed then," she told him with a confident smile. "He's even better than what you've heard."

Tuning back around, Eevee gave the boy one last smirk before they headed back to the trainer prep room.

* * *

><p>"I did it Ash! I won!"<p>

Running down the hallway when she saw her friends, May jumped into him and brought the boy in to a big hug, knocking the poor Pikachu off his shoulder in the process while Ash just barely kept himself from falling over. Catching the brunette, Ash was a little unsure as to what to do, she was now holding onto him happier than ever and nearly suspending herself off the ground in his arms.

"I actually beat Drew! You saw right?"

"Yeah I saw May," he tried to tell her as she squeezed him. "You did great out there. It took you all the way until the last second but I never doubted you for a single moment."

"Congratulations on making it past the second round May," Dawn chimed in.

"Piplup pip!"

"Thanks you two."

Only then starting to realize what everything around her was like, May finally let go if the trainer, blushing but a big smile still on her face.

"Sorry Pikachu," she apologized as Eevee jumped off her shoulder to help the Electric-Type. "I just feel so good right now after just that one win."

"It must be because it was Drew you beat," Ash told her after checking on his starter. "Part of the reason you were feeling bad about the last Grand Festival was because he beat you so easily. Now, not even a couple weeks later, you were able to duel him to a standstill and then come out on top. It means that you're back to your normal self, confidence and all. Exactly like it should be."

"Yeah, that might be it."

"Oh, and congratulations on Munchlax's evolution. You'll have to remember to thank her properly later too; she was instrumental in your win."

"Yeah, I know. Now we just have to watch you win your next round Ash."

"We'll be sure not to disappoint, right Pikachu?"

Back on his feet next to Eevee, the electric mouse gave a confident nod yes.

"Now in the mean time, let's head out to do some more training with Ivysaur and Venusaur while we have the spare time. We'll also need to make a stopover at one of the general stores before we come back here; I have a few things I need to pick up for us."

Watching as the boy picked up both Pikachu and Eevee before walking towards the exit, both May and Dawn were somewhat confused at one of his comments.

"General store?"

With each of the coordinators taking a look at each other, neither girl could understand the reason for the trainer's odd request. Shrugging, both of them quickly caught up to Ash to head out to their normal training area.

* * *

><p>And there it is, May's passed her second round and beaten Drew in the process, even if it was only in that last second. Next chapter is Ash's battle and while it's a bit long I'm more confident in that one than this one. See you then.<p> 


	25. Chapter 25

Well looks like from the reviews that I received that the last chapter wasn't as bad as I was thinking it might have been, and of course thanks as always to those that did review. But this one I'm a little more confident in at least. It's probably the second largest chapter that I've done but that was mostly so that I wouldn't split the chapter in the middle of the battle. So as everyone has been waiting for, here's Ash's double battle. Welcome to chapter 25.

* * *

><p>"Okay, do you have any idea as to why he wanted to buy these for us?"<p>

"No clue."

Having just parted from Ash as he entered the trainer prep room, May and Dawn were looking down at the items that he had bought for them at the general store before they made their way back to the stadium, ear plugs.

"Well, Ash told us to wear them so there has to be some reason behind it," May finally said. "He even made sure to get some for Eevee and Piplup. So I for one am going to put them in."

"I see no reason why not to either. He knows something about what he planned to do for this battle and he wants our ears protected, so I'm not going to go against it either."

Putting the ear plugs into their pockets for the time being, the two girls and their Pokémon began to walk down the hall to find their seats.

"I knew if I waited here I could catch you two."

Turning around, they found Drew leaning up against one of the walls.

"You two would accompany Ketchum to the prep room and then leave from there, so needless to say it made the most sense to do just that."

"Why does he have to be here?" Dawn whispered to May as the boy started to walk closer.

"Oh yeah, in my excitement I forgot to mention that he said he would be joining us to watch Ash's match," May whispered back, a bit of nervous laughter escaping her lips as well.

"Great."

"So should we go find some open seats?"

"Sure Drew," Dawn said back to him in her normal tone of voice with a light smile, completely hiding the fact that she didn't want him to be there. If Ash wasn't nearby there was no point in having him be with them, and she had no real liking for the boy anyways.

Walking into the stands, even if they were rather full it didn't take too long to find three open seats, sitting down with May and Eevee in between the other two. The match currently going on was almost over with both trainers down one Pokémon, a Charizard and an Onix as the remaining two.

"So Dawn, seeing as how you're a coordinator too, why didn't you enter the competition?" Drew asked as he tried to get some conversation going. "Or did you lose in the first round."

"Ash, May, and I got separated while coming here so I missed the deadline to enter," she told him, once again trying to hide her annoyance. "Don't worry; I would have made it to the top 50 without too much problem."

"Considering Ketchum made it there it must not have been all that hard."

"You keep talking like you know what he's like Drew; I would bet that you have no clue about him," the blunette stated confidently.

"I know enough. Of which is that his battle style is a bad influence on May."

"Please, don't even start to compare your style with his. You'll lose every time."

"Okay, no more please," May interrupted the small fight as she saw Drew start to go faintly red in the face. "I don't like it when people argue with each other from both sides of me."

"Fine by me May." Calming down with a flick of his hair, Drew looked back down to the field where the current trainers were just leaving. "I'm only here to see how Ketchum actually does considering this is supposed to be his specialty."

Before either Dawn or May could say anything in response, the loudspeaker started up announcing the next battle.

"For our next battle for the second round we present to you our next two trainers, Aaron Ryan and Ash Ketchum. By random selection Mr. Ryan is the one who chooses first."

At the sound of Ash's name, soft murmurs began to ripple across the stadium. The teens could hear a few in their own section.

"Ash Ketchum, doesn't that name sound familiar?"

"Isn't that the name of the new Lilly of the Valley Conference champion?"

"No it can't be. What would someone like that be doing here?"

"I wonder if they are related."

"Yeah, maybe we could find him after this to see if we couldn't get him to get an autograph for us. Because I doubt he'll get any further than this so he'll have some free time on his hands."

"Well with Aaron as his opponent I doubt that a no-name coordinator can go up against the runner-up in this year's Kanto Grand Festival."

"_They are in for a shock if they underestimate what Ash can do,"_ May thought as she heard several of them. _"He has this round won with almost no problem."_

* * *

><p>Ash was feeling a little odd standing there in front of all these people in his new clothes. By that point he was used to them around May and Dawn or out in the general public, but with everyone focused on him it was a different feeling. And even though he couldn't make out what they were saying, he could guess as to what the whispering was about when the mentioned his name over the loudspeaker.<p>

"And here I was hoping that they wouldn't recognize my name that much this far away from Sinnoh, Pikachu," he said to his partner. "Guess that was inevitable."

Looking over at his opponent, he was a boy probably two or three years younger than Ash with short brown hair.

"I just wonder if he's heard of me. By the look on his face I doubt it."

"Pikachu."

"That just means that we can have a bit more fun beforehand." Taking a quick glance at the sun's position, a smile came to his face. "And that's virtually perfect for us as well. This should go pretty close to how we have it planned. Now all that's left are the two Pokémon that he picks."

Hearing the tone signaling for the trainers to send out their Pokémon, Ash's opponent tossed his two into the air revealing two Pokémon that Ash knew rather well considering that they were both natives of Kanto. The first was a small brown bipedal dinosaur-like Pokémon only a little over half the height of Ash, with a skull acting as a helmet and a large bone it was wielding as a club. The other was rather surprising to Ash, in a good way, because he knew Pidgeot would recognize that Pokémon instantly. It was a bird Pokémon native to the area like it was, but had a much longer and slender neck and beak. And while its body was smaller than Pidgeot's its wingspan was slightly larger.

"Oh Pidgeot is going to love taking on this trainer for his first battle with me in so long," Ash grinned. "You ready Buddy?"

"Pika."

"Go Pidgeot!"

Tossing the ball into the air, the large bird came out and landed right next to where Pikachu had taken up a position on their side of the field. Like Ash had thought, as soon as Pidgeot saw one of his opponents his glare never left the bird. Sure, he knew it wasn't the same Fearow that he dueled with for so long, but ever since then he had a certain dislike for the other Flying-Type. Not to mention he knew their attacks inside and out.

"Our green trainer has chosen a Marowak and Fearow while the red trainer has chosen a Pikachu and Pidgeot," the announcer said over the loudspeaker as the crowd's conversations started to die down.

"Just to let you know," Ash called out to the other boy. "My Pidgeot has a bit of a bad history with Fearow; you might want to be careful."

"Thanks but you should worry more about your own Pokémon," Aaron called back. "Your Pikachu isn't going to be enough and I have a reputation that I need to keep up as the runner-up in this year's Grand Festival."

"We'll see, because I have a bit of a reputation to uphold as well."

As soon as the buzzer went off for the start of the match, Ash was ready with his attacks.

"Okay guys just like we practiced. Pidgeot, Tailwind and take to the air! Pikachu Quick Attack!"

With a quick gust of wind aimed at their opponents, the Flying-Type took to the air shooting straight up. Pikachu wasn't far behind as his accelerated Quick Attack sped him right at Marowak.

"Fearow you take to the skies too, Marowak show that Pikachu why an Electric-Type should respect a Ground-Type!"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

Spinning around with the speed of the Quick Attack behind him, Pikachu revealed his basic close range attack aimed right at the Marowak who was completely unprepared for the speed at which he closed the distance between the two.

"Marowak defend!"

Hastily holding up his bone club in front of himself, the Bone Keeper Pokémon took the full force of the amplified Iron Tail. Grunting at the unexpected power behind the attack he found himself skidding back nearly a meter before finding his footing again.

"Keep the pressure Pikachu! Now both of you use Agility!"

Not slowing down for even a moment, the Mouse Pokémon once again closed the distance between them in an instant, swinging his tail right back at his opponent. This time though Marowak wisely chose to dodge instead, but before he could even throw a counter attack the lithe Electric-Type was once again spinning back around with another attack. Marowak could only continue dodging for fear of what might happen if on one of those attacks hit home.

It took a second for Aaron to realize what was going on. He had never seen an Electric-Type, let alone a tiny Pikachu, get that up close and personal to a Ground-Type before.

"Marowak Bone Club! Fearow Whirlwind! Fill the entire area!"

Finally finding an opening to start his own barrage, Marowak's club became a blur as he swung it from nearly every angle he could. Problem was, being a mouse Pikachu's agility wasn't just limited to attack. Jumping left, right, up, and down; Pikachu never even came close to being touched by the attack. He was even able to get an Iron Tail in here and there when he found his own opening.

Up in the air, noticing that the Pidgeot was keeping its distance for the time being, Fearow began to blow up a large Whirlwind to hamper their opponents, knowing that Marowak's weight would keep it relatively safe from the attack. The two had teamed up many times before and this was just going to be another easy win for them, no matter how agile that Pikachu was. Flapping its wings rapidly back and forth the wind started to pick up and soon the small breeze turned into a strong current of air that was beginning to slow down the lighter Pikachu from moving as he liked.

Ash could feel the attack quite easily as it blew back and caused his top shirt to flap behind him, but he still had a large smile on his face.

"Pikachu catch the gust back to our side! Pidgeot, let's show them a real windstorm, Hurricane!"

Currently positioned with his opponent between him and Ash, Pikachu did a quick dodge of another Bone Club and skidded underneath the Pokémon's legs. Jumping up just enough to catch the wind Fearow was making along with a Quick Attack caused Pikachu to fly back near Ash and land while doing a 180 in the dirt to face his opponent again, already preparing for what was coming next.

For Pidgeot the wind the other bird was producing was nearly negligible, the other Fearow's Whirlwind was much more powerful than this. Taking up the most ideal position he began to flap his wings just like his opponent, as he did the wind started to idle as it felt as though it was dying down. As Pidgeot continued to speed up his own attack the two powerful winds rammed into each other in the center of the field, and just as Pikachu made his way past the point, a small tornado started to form from the clashing currents. Yet it would never touch down. Before long Pidgeot took the upper hand as his wings beat even faster and the torrent of air that Fearow had created was nearly forgotten as Pidgeot returned the force with extra, and it just kept going faster. Loose items from the crowd could be seen flying up along the force of the hurricane force winds as many of the spectators held onto their seats as they felt like they would fly up too if they let go. As the winds hit their max speed a creaking noise followed by the sharp crack of electricity could be heard over the roaring windstorm as several of the light posts on the upper part of the stadium began to bend back from the force, white-hot sparks flying backwards along with torrent of air.

Seeing as how the Pidgeot was keeping his distance Fearow wasn't too worried about him at first, thinking that it was only there to back up the Electric-Type. With the sudden gust now coming back at him even with his Whirlwind in effect Fearow was having a hard time staying airborne and just to keep from flying back he had to stop his own attack and focus only on resisting is opponent. On the ground, Marowak was experiencing a similar effect as it had to jab his bone hard into the earth to help hold on. He was used to his partner's Whirlwind but this was on another level entirely.

"This is nuts!" Aaron cried out over the thunderous winds. "Fearow, Marowak, Hyper Beam! Stop that bird!"

Barely able to aim their attacks at the bird, the two Pokémon fired off a thick yellow beam of energy from their mouths at their target. Before Marowak could even complete the attack he caught a glimpse of a yellow blur right before he felt a very sharp pain in his stomach.

Using the same maneuver that got him out of combat, Pikachu once again used a Quick Attack combined with Pidgeot's Hurricane to rocket back into close range from the exact opposite side of the field, Iron Tail at the ready. With Marowak's attention elsewhere it was child's play to get a direct hit, striking the Ground-Type in the stomach and onto his back causing the Hyper Beam to go flying out of control across the sky. Luckily for both trainers, it hit absolutely nothing before it faded out.

"Pidgeot, Quick Attack!"

Pulling his wings in, the Pokémon dropped down about a meter from Fearow's attack before righting himself and the form of the large bird blurred as it sped towards its target as well.

"Dodge!"

With Fearow still recharging from the Hyper Beam, dodging the attack was virtually impossible and it hit dead on as Pidgeot continued past and quickly gained altitude.

"That's it; we need to take them down one at a time!" Aaron concluded as his points took a large drop. "Marowak Bone Club that Pikachu! Fearow Twister on Pikachu as well! Keep a watch for the Pidgeot!"

Caught up again in the game of whack-a-mole, Pikachu proved how fast he was even without Quick Attack. And even with the slightly larger Twister, he was just too fast and experienced for them to hit him. Of course if they did hit it could be game over for him, but he preferred not to think of that. It was more fun just dodging these attacks and watching the frustration on his opponents' faces.

"Pidgeot, Brave Bird! Prepare to catch!"

Already at a significantly high altitude and nearly out of view, his sensitive hearing picked up his trainer's command with ease. Entering into an aerial flip, the great bird positioned himself into a power dive right at his target by pulling his wings and feet up against his body and allowing gravity to do the rest, picking up speed after every passing second.

"It's coming back!" Aaron yelled as he made out the form of the other bird, now covered in a blue flame, come shooting back down to the stadium. "Fearow dodge it and give it a Twister! Marowak Earthquake! We need to beat that Pikachu!"

"Perfect," Ash said to himself as he watched the entire battle open up in front of him. "Pikachu get ready for round two!"

Grasping his bone club with both hands and raising it high above his head, Marowak was preparing to employ one of the strongest Ground-Type attacks. But Pikachu once again slid between his legs onto the other side as he hit the ground causing the stadium to quake and the ground to split open in small areas, escaping the worst of the attack. Turning around, the Bone Keeper Pokémon caught just enough to see Pikachu jump into the air before the shockwave hit him while contorting himself in midair to face his opponent once more. Grinning, the Electric-Type's eyes glowed yellow for a moment before the entire world became white.

"Great job you two!" Ash congratulated his Pokémon. "Now to start the real battle."

The Flash attack caught Aaron completely off guard. His opponent never even ordered it. As his vision started to return, the coordinator could see no real sign of Pikachu, only the retreating tail feathers of Pidgeot as he gained altitude yet again. Checking his two Pokémon, they both seemed perfectly fine. So at least that meant his Fearow dodged that Brave Bird attack. He could see no hole or any indication of where Pikachu went, but with Pidgeot starting to turn around he knew that he had other problems. Unable to risk another Hyper Beam if Pikachu came out of hiding he had to use another tactic. And with the speed of the other Flying-Type, he wasn't sure how long Fearow would last against it in a one on one fight with that Pidgeot. Something the over-confident Flying-Type was already realizing.

"Fearow, Marowak, line yourselves up with Pidgeot as he comes down and prepare for a defense!"

"Bring it down just like we practiced!" Ash called out as Pidgeot got further into the air.

Doing as their trainer ordered, the two Pokémon kept in line while watching Pidgeot circle the sky until he reached the noon sun. Losing sight of them, Aaron couldn't make out his opponent's form until it was coming down in another Quick Attack using the sun behind them as a blinder.

"Fearow use your Keen Eye to dodge that bird then Twister it, Marowak Bonemerang once Fearow moves! Get it into a pincher!"

Shooting down once again, Fearow easily dodged the other bird with one strong beat of his wings and prepared its attack just as Marowak pulled his bone back, ready to throw it.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Pidgeot, Air Slash!" Ash called out as his two opponents were about to launch their attacks.

Dropping down from his angle slightly to get out of the way of the sun's light, Pidgeot's wings began to glow a light blue as he neared his target. Of course with the large bird's body no longer blocking the sun Marowak flinched momentarily as the bright sunlight hit his eyes. But that moment was all Pidgeot needed.

Spreading his wings at the last second, the Flying-Type fired off several circles of sickle-like energy as he took back up into the air. Caught off guard again by the attack, the Ground-Type could only hold his bone in front of him to block one of them as two more hit down right next to him, creating gashes in the earth several inches deep as they cartwheeled by.

Keeping his eye on Pidgeot as the bird launched his own attack and retreated, Fearow thought that he was in a perfect position to make the counter attack. But just as he was about to use his wings to start it, the bird heard a crackling noise behind him. Turning his head to the new noise, he found the Pikachu; free falling and electricity flaring going straight for the Flying-Type. Unable to defend in time, Pikachu rammed into his target and unleashed his electricity for the first time in the battle, causing the Pokémon to cry out in pain. Temporarily losing control of his muscles from the attack, Fearow rolled to one side before catching himself only moments later. While there was no doubt the attack did severe damage, at least the mouse wasn't able to hold onto him.

Recovering from his own assault, Marowak noticed the midair Pikachu and decided to take action on his own, pulling back and throwing his Bonemerang at the seemingly helpless Electric-Type.

"No, Fearow dodge that Pidgeot!"

Almost missing the attack, Aaron knew that he was focusing too much on that Pikachu. After the Air Slash attack, Pidgeot flew back up into the air before aiming back in only moments later with yet another Quick Attack.

Recovering from the powerful shock, Fearow looked up just in time to see Pidgeot charging back into the fight, talons outstretched to their max and aimed right at the other Flying-Type. With a quick flap of his large wings, Fearow barely dodged the attack just in time to see that he wasn't the true target. Shooting past him, Pidgeot got underneath Pikachu just in time to catch him and avoid the Bonemerang before bringing them both back into the air.

"So that's his strategy." Looking back at Ash, Aaron was starting to get frustrated. Not at what the other trainer was doing, but more at who he could be. He was in the Kanto Grand Festival and didn't see anyone of this level there, nor in the Johto Grand Festival that he watched on TV. Taking a glance at the scoreboard he was technically in the lead, barely, but any amateur could see that the battle itself was completely in his opponent's favor. "Fearow get ready for his Pikachu the next time they come around! Marowak get out of line with Fearow, they'll just use the sun as a blinder again. Going up against them two on one in their favor would be an instant loss so we need to stay back here."

As the coordinator predicted, Pidgeot once again became lost in the bright rays of the midday sun.

"Just watch the bird," Aaron told himself. "Just watch the bird. Pikachu will be right behind him to attack Fearow and Pidgeot will come down to attack Marowak. Then Pidgeot needs to grab Pikachu so there is probably a second attack when he comes back in."

"Alright guys let's move on," Ash called out to his Pokémon. "Pidgeot, Wing Attack! Pikachu Iron Tail!"

"Fearow your target is Pikachu as he goes past, hit it with a Drill Peck. Marowak get ready with a Bonemerang at Pidgeot!"

Watching as closely as he could with the sun as it was, Aaron observed his opponent's Flying-Type get closer and closer.

"Now Fearow, dodge the bird and hit the Pikachu behind it! Marowak, Bonemerang!"

Once again dodging with a strong flap from his wings, Fearow looked past the other bird to find the target for his attack. While he did find him, the Electric-Type was nowhere near them. Pikachu was once again in free fall, but this time headed for Marowak. Realizing what was going on a second to late, Fearow glanced over at the other Flying-Type just in time to be struck with a powerful hit from its wing as it flew past.

From Pikachu's perspective, Pikapi's plan was working perfectly. They were catching their opponents off guard at every turn, but he had work to do. If he wasn't careful this one could hurt greatly. After Pidgeot started flying off, it was then Marowak noticed him, but it too was just a moment too late. Charging up a Thunderbolt, Pikachu shot it all around the Ground-Type right before he hit the earth, causing a blast of dust to rise up around them.

"That electric attack is not going to do anything to…" Aaron stopped midsentence as Marowak went flying from the newly created dust cloud and crashed into the side wall. Before long the dust cleared, revealing a dirty, but unharmed, Pikachu at its center with his tail still glowing a dull metal grey.

"He wasn't trying to attack Marowak," he realized. "Not only did it cover his final approach but the blast cushioned Pikachu's fall, making Pidgeot catching him unnecessary. Damn, who is this guy? Fearow use Drill Run on Pikachu before Pidgeot gets back!"

Still a little woozy from the bludgeoning strike, Fearow found his target again, this time on the ground. Worried about the fact that Pidgeot wouldn't be far behind, the Flying-Type had to trust his trainer. Pulling his entire body into a rapid spin, the Beak Pokémon dove down towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu dodge!"

As the large bird came down on him, Pikachu just barely dodged the full brunt of the attack with it skimming across a minor portion of his side. Normally he would have had no problem dodging something like that, but while he didn't have any injuries from the impact it still put a good deal of strain on his body temporarily. Wincing in pain as the bird flew past, Pikachu knew he messed up, even if there was little he could do to stop it at the time.

"Marowak get up!" Aaron called out to his Pokémon. "I know that must hurt but will you really let an Electric-Type beat you?"

Slowly getting back to his feet, Marowak had to use his club as a cane to steady himself but he was still in this fight. He couldn't let a lowly Pikachu beat him, even if he now knew that his opponent was very experienced and was in no way a push-over.

"Pidgeot, come pick up Pikachu," Ash called out to his Flying-Type as he circled the air above them. "We're bringing this up a notch."

"_With Pikachu hit by that last attack we don't have much of a choice,"_ Ash thought. _"These guys aren't all that great but their attacks will really hurt if they hit."_

"Fearow continue your Drill Run up towards Pidgeot! Marowak, use Bonemerang to support him! We need to keep them from joining up again!"

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt on Fearow!"

Unable to keep his focus on the Pidgeot coming down from the skies, Fearow had no choice but to stop his spin to dodge the Electric-Type attack. He felt the first one, and he knew if he got hit by that again in his current condition he would be out. As for the Bonemerang, to Pidgeot it might as well have not even been moving at all, he dodged it without a problem and with Pikachu jumping back onto his back started to pull back up into the air.

"Okay guys, let's try this," the trainer calmly told them. "Thunder Armor!"

"Fearow watch out!" Aaron warned his Pokémon. "That doesn't sound good."

On his way back up into the air, Pikachu started to concentrate to be able to create his next attack. Launching a powerful bolt of lightning up into the air at one of the small clouds, the attack stalled as it pulsated around for a moment. It didn't take long for the attack to come back down with several times the original force, right down onto Pikachu and Pidgeot as not just one but a total of three separate bolts of lightning fell from the sky onto the pair.

"What the…is he insane?"

Aaron could only watch as the Thunder attack hit his opponent's Pokémon, an attack far greater than what had been used on either of his own Pokémon so far. Both seemed to be struggling with the electricity, but after many seconds everything seemed to stabilize. Now covered in a golden glowing aura and their bodies shining the same color, Pidgeot hovered there with Pikachu on his back, both looking as confident as ever.

"Now guys," Ash commanded. "Time for another assault. Brave Bird and Thunderbolt, focus on Fearow!"

With a loud call, Pidgeot took off high into the sky again, his speed noticeably faster.

"I have no clue what's going on but I don't like the looks of this," Aaron said to himself. "Marowak just prepare another Bonemerang, Fearow get ready for anything! Dodge as early as you can to avoid everything!"

Traveling up into the air, Pidgeot could feel the pain of the electricity running through his body, even if Pikachu was trying to control it as much as possible. But even if this was a double-edged sword type of attack, the aura reduced wind resistance allowing for faster speeds and the new power was also a welcome advantage.

Starting back into their rotation, Pidgeot started to dive down to the ground with Pikachu letting go at about the midpoint allowing the Flying-Type to speed up and hit first with him coming in behind.

"Fearow dodge that!"

Moving as fast as wings could take him; Fearow narrowly dodged Pidgeot's Brave Bird and was just as close when it came to the falling Pikachu right after with an electrified Iron Tail clipping the edges of his feathers. Guessing as to where the next attack would come from, he was once again barely able to move out of the way of the attack from behind. But as before the miss meant nothing to Ash as Pidgeot was able to get back into position to grab Pikachu before he hit the ground. After they were back up in the air the attack started over again.

But unlike the earlier attacks Pikachu never left Pidgeot's back for too long. Unlike with Swellow, who was able to retain the electricity better for some reason, Pikachu had to continually recharge the Thunder Armor on Pidgeot and because of this he wasn't able to go down and deal with Marowak without risking the loss of the attack. If the armor was lost he would only have to hit his partner with another Thunder attack. While the effects were minimal to the Electric-Type, Pidgeot could only take so much. So they needed to stick together, and with Fearow in the air it was only natural for them to target him.

Although he was able to dodge them, Fearow's stress was increasing far beyond what he was used to with each attack. He was tiring fast and if even one of those attacks hit he would be out for sure. It was even to the point where he was starting to ignore some of his trainer's orders to attack. With the speed boost his opponent got from that weird armor, it took all his concentration just to keep one of those Quick Attacks from hitting, let alone make sure that the Pikachu didn't come in to deliver a finishing blow right after.

Essentially being ignored with the exception of an Air Slash every so often, the Ground-Type was getting annoyed. It was almost as if he didn't even matter in their eyes anymore. That annoyance was only accentuated by the fact that he only knew two ranged attacks, and one of them his trainer wasn't willing to take the risk of the recharge time to create an opening. Even if Marowak was throwing his bone every time they came within range, it was far too slow for the aerial battle and only accomplished two things. Slightly limiting the angle that the two could fall and slowly reducing Aaron's points.

The coordinator was getting about as annoyed as his Pokémon were at that point. Fearow was ignoring his commands for counterattacks and Marowak was essentially useless at that point. To make matters worse, he couldn't depend on his ace in the hole, Hyper Beam, or risk a finishing attack if they missed. Aaron couldn't believe the power just a single attack from either of those Pokémon held and he was beginning to doubt if the boy across from him was even a coordinator. The only thing he could hope for was that in dodging his opponent's attacks he could get enough of a lead to win in the end.

Sure enough, with Pidgeot not hitting with his attacks on Fearow and Pikachu only getting stray arcs of his own attack, Ash's points were dropping as well. And while it wasn't by much, they were dropping faster than Aaron's. While some of the Air Slash attacks that the Flying-Type launched at Marowak hit their target enough to keep the points rather even, it still wasn't enough. While Ash currently had a slight lead, the timer was down to the three minute mark and this repetition was getting them nowhere.

"I was hoping that Fearow would have slowed down more that this by now," Ash muttered to himself. "In a normal battle I could keep this up and probably win eventually, as long as Pidgeot was able to keep going, but I don't have that luxury now. Problem being I don't want to use our new attack just yet. Let's see if a simple combo will be enough, then we can start to see the difference between trainers and coordinators." Turning back to his two Pokémon, the trainer was confident that this should be enough. If he didn't have to risk using it he didn't want to use his ace. "Pikachu, Pidgeot, move onto combo four. If we can end this now, all the better!"

Hearing their trainer's order, the Flying-Type brought himself back into position to create his lines that he had been using for the past several minutes. He could see their opposing trainer looking somewhat worried at the new orders but just by watching their initial movements he wouldn't be able to figure out what they were planning.

"I'm not sure what this combo of theirs is but get ready Fearow," Aaron told his Pokémon. "You too Marowak, but just keep an eye on them. Ever since they created that odd armor the Pikachu doesn't stay off of Pidgeot for long."

Finding his opponent going back into the sun's rays to use as a blinder was nothing new; the coordinator knew that it would probably be essentially the same. As long as Fearow could keep an eye on the two he wasn't in an excessive amount of danger.

Shooting back down, Pidgeot was aimed for his counterpart, and even though the other bird dodged it without too much effort, he wasn't putting too much effort into making it hit either. This time he was only playing two roles, transport and blocker.

Flying out of the way of the simple Wing Attack, Fearow was wondering why it seemed too easy to dodge. He got his answer as Pidgeot passed him. Unlike the majority of the times before, Pikachu was nowhere to be seen. Scanning the skies the Flying-Type could find no clue of him, but with the mouse starting on Pidgeot's back that meant there was only one other place for him to be.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Jumping off of Pidgeot as he leveled off closer to the stadium's floor, Pikachu let out a large amount of electricity which arced out across the entire field causing dust to fly up and obscure the lower couple meters of the field.

"Not this again," Aaron muttered. He was hoping that he had figured out the weakness of that armor but now that Pikachu was on the ground the options opened up too much for his liking. While he still held an advantage in one sense, the earlier clashes showed how little that meant against this particular opponent. "Fearow quickly blow that dust away with Gust! We can't allow that Pikachu to move as it pleases in there! Marowak get ready for anything now that it's down on the ground again!"

"Pidgeot you use Gust too! Try and cancel it out!"

Even if Hurricane was a more powerful attack, Ash knew that in this case a regular Gust was better. He needed it fast and just enough to counteract the other attack. Besides, Pikachu was going to be the one that would be the focus of this so if he could keep Fearow busy it was only a plus.

Positioning himself so he could do as his trainer commanded, Pidgeot started his attack just moments after the Fearow did. Much like when the battle started the two attacks collided in the middle of the field as they pulled the dust along with them and up into a small tornado created by the conflicting currents.

With the field now clear, Marowak could clearly see the Pikachu who landed somewhat hard on the ground on the opposite side of the field. At least with his initial landing it allowed enough time to recover so that by the time the dust was cleared he was already heading for his opponent while Pidgeot kept the Fearow busy.

"Okay Pikachu, Sweep!"

Even if Pikachu knew what he needed to do for this combo Ash needed the first attack to be obvious enough to counter, and if they were bad enough to not dodge it the effects would be worthwhile anyways.

It didn't take long until the Electric-Type was right next to Marowak and as per his orders pulled himself into a spin and swept his tail just above the ground, aiming for his opponent's legs with another powerful Iron Tail attack.

"Jump!"

He may not have completely understood the order, but after seeing how it started it wasn't hard to know the meaning. Aaron felt lucky enough that he was able to figure it out fast enough and call the counter because if that one hit, Marowak would have a hard time moving from any following attack, though at that range his options for dodging it were rather slim. Problem was that was exactly what Ash was hoping that they'd do.

As the Ground-Type jumped up to avoid the first attack, Pikachu continued his spinning motion back around and with his Iron Tail still glowing pulled it into an uppercut motion. Unable to react fast enough and caught while in mid jump, Marowak could only try to angle his head in a hope that the Pikachu would miss. Unfortunately for him it wasn't enough.

Coming right up though his jaw, even the protective skull he was wearing wasn't enough to block the entire blow. Snapping his head back it stunned the Bone Keeper Pokémon and it couldn't even see the third blow as the mouse jumped up and with yet another Iron Tail struck him right in the gut sending him flying backwards from the force. At least with Pikachu being in midair as well the force wasn't as powerful as it could have been, but having used this combo before Ash knew how to give it a bit more of a punch.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Before he even was back on the ground, the Electric-Type launched his electricity right as his target.

If it wasn't for the rest of the moves that his opponent was pulling off, normally an attack of that type wouldn't mean anything to Aaron against his Marowak. Problem being was he had already learned not to take anything Ash did for face value. Sure enough as the bolt hit, it didn't appear to do anything to the Ground-Type. It was the force of the attack that Ash was wanting, and the blast of electrons sent the Pokémon flying back into the perimeter wall at nearly twice the speed he started at. Dazed by the impact, Marowak could barely hear his trainer calling out for him to defend.

As soon he had all four paws back on the ground, on Ash's command Pikachu was already launching himself back at the defenseless opponent with Quick Attack, Iron Tail glowing yet again.

Barely coming to in time, Marowak brought his bone up to intercept the Steel-Type attack. Having felt the force of these attacks at the beginning of the round, he was unprepared for the force of this current one. Even through his growing exhaustion, the Thunder Armor nearly doubled the force of the Iron Tail. Straining the hold back the attack, the burst of adrenaline that came from the sound of his bone starting to fracture under the pressure was enough to give him the extra boost to throw Pikachu back off of himself.

Breathing a sigh of relief at the exchange, Aaron was really starting to get worried at what was going on. The tornado from the two Gust attacks was also dissipating as the action on the ground was dying down, but he knew he didn't have time to relax as Marowak got to his feet.

"Marowak use Stone Edge! We need to take out at least one of them if we're to win this!"

Summoning the strength to smash his weapon down to the ground, a stream of razor sharp rocks blew out of the ground heading for Pikachu. Surprisingly even with the wave widening as it radiated out, he didn't look nervous at all. After hearing a sharp whistle from Pikapi he knew there was nothing to worry about. Waiting until he heard the sound of wings behind him, Pikachu jumped into the air just as Pidgeot came flying down and picked him up. But going back up into the air wasn't what Ash was hoping for.

"Reinforce the armor and charge through with Brave Bird!" He called out just as his two Pokémon joined up again. "Pikachu cover him as best you can by blasting the rocks with Thunderbolt!"

Nearly grinning as he realized what was going to happen, Aaron was quick to take advantage of his new opportunity.

"Let's take out that Pidgeot, Fearow use Swift and Marowak another Stone Edge!"

With another wave of rocks shooting up with a shower of stars streaming down from the sky, Ash's two Pokémon really had to rely on not only each other but their trainer's decision as well. Of course both were fiercely loyal to the boy and even if they had been apart for so long their teamwork wasn't broken that easily.

Even if he ordered the attack in preparation for what Ash ordered, Aaron was expecting them to bank off to avoid the attacks. Besides the fact that they would be going head on into three powerful attacks, the space between Marowak and the wall would give them no room to pull up before they hit the wall themselves. Even if he was getting surprised by virtually every move the other boy was doing, that seemed a bit too much.

Too bad he underestimated the Pokémon's devotion and trust in their trainer. Flying right into the first wave of Stone Edge, Pidgeot covered himself in the familiar blue flame of Brave Bird while Pikachu not only recharged the Thunder Armor, which nearly fell off in their time apart, but also blasted most of the rocks that would have made a direct hit on his partner. A few still got through but thanks to the Thunder Armor combined with the Brave Bird aura most of the force behind the attacks was taken out. But the first wave wasn't the real problem; the second wave of now two attacks was just about to hit them. Without even the slightest hesitation they continued forward, although this time there were too many targets for Pikachu to deal with and all he could do was silently apologize to the much larger Pidgeot as he took the brunt of what got through. At least he made sure to get most of the rocks which would have been far more painful for the Flying-Type and he even used his own body to try and keep some of the Swift attack off. The Electric-Type knew that Pikapi could still win the battle if he went down, but if Pidgeot went down their chances of winning would have fallen dramatically.

The fact that they went right through the barrage legitimately surprised Aaron because if they went through the trouble of pushing through that meant that they would continue on through to Marowak and into the wall, and if they did that it would only cause more problems for them than himself. He was only worried that there wasn't enough time for Marowak to defend against the assault.

"Hang in there Marowak!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt the ground!" Ash called out at the last second before they hit the Ground-Type.

Just as the Bird Pokémon hit his target, Pikachu let out a massive bolt of electricity into the ground around them. Even if the electrons danced around Marowak doing essentially nothing, Ash's idea worked as he thought. Hitting the ground, the powerful attack caused a sudden updraft of dust and heated air. With his large wings completely unfurled, the effect on Pidgeot was immediate as he caught the artificial thermal and raised enough above the wall with Marowak still clinging onto one of his wings from the initial attack.

Pulling away as the Ground-Type fell off, Pidgeot was flying next to blind as the backlash of pain from the Brave Bird attack hit home. But he was able to see well enough to aim for the Fearow who was hovering up above them.

"Dodge it Fearow!"

It didn't look like an attack so Fearow only pulled back slightly as the giant bird flew right past. But when the Flying-Type's vision was no longer blocked by his counterpart's body, it revealed a grinning Pikachu floating in midair.

"Another Thunderbolt Pikachu!" His trainer called out with a grin equal to that of his Pokémon.

"_I swear am I going up against two Pokémon or one Pokémon with two bodies?"_ Aaron asked himself just as Pikachu came into his view and launched his attack. _"I need to take out at least one of them if I have any chance at winning this."_

"Fearow, hang in there and fire of a Razor Wind right at that Pikachu while it's completely defenseless!"

Pulling himself together even through the powerful attack, Fearow was just glad that the attack didn't come earlier otherwise he would have probably been out. As the electricity started to wear off he gave one blast of air from his large wings. Razor Wind was his favorite attack, and unlike most Pokémon that used it his was even more effective as it wasn't just a couple large blades but a nearly countless amount of tiny sickles hidden in the blast of air.

For Pikachu, his grin fell instantly as the first of the attack reached him. It seemed as though every part of his body was hit with paper-cut slices and he couldn't resist crying out from the pain. He didn't think that it would be enough to cause him to black out but the pain was incredible. Even if he knew it would be easier to recover from than it, the pain was comparable to the Poison Claw he received from the Drapion in the Lilly of the Valley Conference finals.

"Now Fearow while he can't move, Drill Peck!"

It was then that Pikachu was really starting to worry. Even if Marowak was still recovering and couldn't help, he had an angry bird that was about to deal a major attack that could very well take him out while he was still building up his electricity back up to usable levels. Even if Pikapi could probably see what was going on better than he could, the Electric-Type still couldn't hold it back, there was only one thing that could save him now.

"Pikachu!"

As the Fearow's beak started to spin rapidly a loud shriek could easily be heard from above him. Turing his attention away from the virtually helpless Pikachu, something that even made his blood freeze came into view. With a fierce glare that promised an equal amount of pain that he just inflicted, Pidgeot came screaming down in a full dive, talons just now outstretching and aiming for his prey. Unlike the last time this happened Fearow had no time to react, the other Flying-Type hit him like a ton of bricks and his deadly talons grabbed hold. They may have been similar in size when wingspan was concerned but Pidgeot was nearly half-again as heavy as the other bird, and combined with the power created from the dive caused them both to fall right down to the ground, completely under Pidgeot's control.

Smashing down into the earth, Pidgeot could feel an odd sensation as the electricity built up in him from the Thunder Armor was trying to ground itself, right through his opponent. With his opponent now helpless in his grasp he would have preferred to do more than that in retaliation for what it did to Pikachu, but there were other priorities. Releasing his grip, the Flying-Type was able to take off and meet up with his partner before the Electric-Type could fall too far and started to bring him back up to safety.

"That was too close," Ash muttered after what just happened. From his position he could see that Pidgeot was already on his way back down but it still made him tense up just watching it. Glancing at the clock he could see that it just passed the two minute mark. From the last few barrages he was actually losing in points. And the repeat attacks that he kept on doing probably weren't helping things either. Noticing Fearow actually getting up from that attack Pidgeot gave it, the trainer figured that it was best to try and end it all at once. "They're a tenacious duo, I'll give them that much, but with Thunder Armor starting to wear off we don't have much time left. Besides, I might as well finish it off with a good show for the audience." Turning back to his Pokémon, Ash gave his order. "Pidgeot, Pikachu, recharge the Thunder Armor and straight into Mach Meteor! We're finishing this now!"

* * *

><p>"Mach Meteor? What the heck is that move?" Dawn asked as she watched Pikachu and Pidgeot start to gain altitude again.<p>

"Never heard of it before myself," Drew told her. "I have to admit though that Ketchum isn't too bad, and while I don't enjoy admitting it he's a brilliant tactician with how well his two Pokémon are working together. It's almost like watching a Pokémon with one mind but two bodies fighting. But his sense of contest battles is horrid."

"I didn't catch all of that, but I think I know what you were saying. And Ash is a good battler no matter what you say; points don't matter if you're able to knock out your opponent's Pokémon before they run out."

"Yeah but it's still barbaric to only try for that way. And why are you wearing those things in your ears?"

"These things?" Dawn asked pointing at the ear plugs. "They're ear plugs of course."

"No, not 'what are they', 'why are you' wearing them!" He yelled at her, trying to get through.

"Sheesh, you don't need to yell. But to answer why, I don't know. Ash just gave them to us before the fight started and told us to use them. He never said why. Do you have any idea May? May?"

Not even paying attention to the two that were talking, May and Eevee had their eyes glued to Pidgeot as he continued to rise into the air. He was getting harder and harder to see as they didn't stop climbing. Eevee had been clawing at May's lap for most of the fight whenever Pikachu was in free fall, even when it was obvious that Pidgeot was going to catch him. She just couldn't control her fear of watching him get hurt. It was only proven with that last attack Fearow did on him, when she heard him cry out in pain even May winced as she felt the Normal-Type's claws dig into her lap in reflex. She only relaxed her grip once he was back in the air with Pidgeot. At least her trainer knew exactly why she was acting like that and never even said anything against the action.

"_Mach Meteor,"_ May repeated in her head while trying to ignore the pin sized holes that were now in the skin of her thighs. _"I remember Thunder Armor now at least; Ash used it against Tate and Liza back in Hoenn for his Mind Badge. But what is this Mach Meteor? Meteor…"_ May's eyes went wide as she realized exactly what that part of it meant. Thinking back to when they caught Ash's private training session, she remembered seeing a giant thunderbolt streaking down from the sky. _"That was no Thunder attack."_

"Eevee, trust me, you don't want to watch this."

Hastily covering up her Pokémon's eyes with her hand, May could only hope that her assumption was wrong. Struggling against her trainer's hand to see, May made sure to always keep her in the dark. She didn't even want to imagine what would happen if the Normal-Type saw what she thought would happen.

"May? What's wrong?" Dawn asked.

"Dawn, Drew, I think we're about to see how crazy Ash can really get when it comes to battles."

* * *

><p>Pikachu looked down to see the ground far below him. He could no longer make out Pikapi and even the stadium was starting to get tiny. Gulping hard, he was as nervous as he had ever been. Sure they had tested this move out a number of times without any noticeable mistake, six of which were from this height, but the fact remained that if the timing was off by even a second it could be fatal. He had to completely rely on Pidgeot, which of course he did, but it still gave him the chills being at this height. At least it was taking his mind off of the countless small cuts that he now had across his body. While they weren't major every time he moved he could feel nearly every one of them.<p>

"Pikachu," he told the bird he was riding when they approached their target height.

"Pidgeot."

"Pika."

Letting go of Pidgeot's feathers, the electric mouse watched as the Flying-Type banked away and continued to gain a little more speed before angling himself to what he needed for his portion of the combo attack.

Pikachu was now in midair, still flying upwards from the force of Pidgeot. But that was slowly changing as that force ran out and gravity started to take over. He could feel it inside of himself as his body stopped pulling down from the positive g-forces. It wasn't long before everything seemed to stop for a moment as he hit zero-g, the feeling of complete weightlessness. For a split-second he hovered there, enjoying the sights of being this high in the air. That all ended as gravity took control again, and he entered into the feeling of negative-g forces, slowly picking up speed. It wasn't long before he was falling as fast as his body would take him, it was then that he activated his first attack. Surrounding himself in the familiar aura of Volt Tackle, the decreased air resistance created by the electricity added to that of the Thunder Armor and caused him to shoot down to Earth like a rocket. Carefully steering by using his tail as a rudder he aimed for his target and continued falling the vast distance down to the ground.

* * *

><p>"Okay, what's happening up there?"<p>

Aaron, along with the entire stadium, had their eyes glued to the sky where Ash's Pokémon had ascended to. Fearow had at least returned to the sky while Marowak was back to his feet. They were his two most persistent Pokémon so the coordinator knew it would take a lot to bring them down, even if he had more than he bargained for with his current opponent.

After a few moments, Aaron caught sight of a yellow streak starting to fall down towards them. Although he couldn't completely make it out, it didn't take long for the coordinator to figure out what it was.

"He couldn't," he said with an extremely nervous smile coming to his face. "He wouldn't. It's just a trick. A farce. Pidgeot will catch him before he gets too far."

But the streak continued to come closer, and the size seemed to be increasing as it got closer too.

"He couldn't, where is that bird!" Scanning the air, it didn't take long to locate Pidgeot.

* * *

><p>After Pikachu let go of him, Pidgeot had done a large aerial loop, putting him exactly in the line he needed. While Pikachu was just starting to fall, Pidgeot once gain entered into a power dive. Pulling his wings and talons back against his body as much as he physically could, he tried to gain as much speed as possible, pulling away from even the plummeting Pikachu.<p>

Besides his angles, there was only one thing on the Flying-Type's mind, speed. He needed more, a lot more.

Two times, three times, four times, five times, using his keen eyes Pidgeot had to keep an accurate idea of his relative speed compared to Pikachu. This entire maneuver relied on his ability to be exactly precise at where he needed to be and when he needed to be there.

He was already hitting the barrier that kept most Pokémon from going any faster. His muscles were aching as they tried to keep his entire body from shuddering from the force that was ramming up against him and the heat created by the friction created by the air was becoming intense, especially along the leading edge of his wings. Before his reunion with Ash, he barely had a need to go this fast. To help him transition through the barrier, Ash had them train to use Thunder Armor to not only cause a decrease in wind resistance for extra speed but also for the defensive boost for the transition itself.

Struggling against the air, Pidgeot knew from experience that it would get much easier after he finally broke through that wall. All he needed was one word from his trainer.

* * *

><p>Ash watched as Pidgeot rocketed back down to the ground ahead of Pikachu.<p>

Even if they had absolutely no mistakes in the nearly hundred times they tried this, from many different heights, he always got butterflies in his stomach watching it.

Seeing the point he needed, Ash knew it was time to hit the real portion of the attack.

"Now Pidgeot!" He screamed at the top of his lungs to make sure the bird heard him over the roaring winds he was experiencing. "Accelerate!"

Leveling off just above the stadium, the Bird Pokémon came into view just long enough for every spectator to see it and then it was gone again.

As his entire body became nothing but a combination of brown and gold blurs to even the best eyes, an ear splitting crack, which sounded eerily similar to lightning, split out from the air around him, followed almost instantaneously by the deep resonating boom of a powerful blast of air pressure radiating out from that same point.

Due to their proximity to the blast both Ash and Aaron were knocked off their feet as it shoved every spectator right into the backs of their seats. If it wasn't for the ringing in everyone's ears from the crack, the sound of glass shattering across the stadium was the only other signal of the wave's passing.

To Fearow, who was right next to where the center of the anomaly occurred, it was too much in his exhausted state. He didn't even have time to feel the disorientation of the powerful sound wave before the blast of air hit him head on without him even knowing what was happening and knocked him out instantly. Marowak, likewise, was sent flying along the ground, his ears rigging and balance completely off kilter.

Aaron was having a hard time figuring what just happened as he got to his feet. Pidgeot was nowhere in sight. The only thing he could see was a cloud of water vapor expanding over the middle of the airspace above the stadium. Dazed by the blast, it took him several seconds before realizing that it wasn't over.

"Pikachu, Volt Tail!"

With everyone's attention on Pidgeot, they had forgotten Pikachu. And at the speed he was going by the time he got close to the stadium to clearly see him, he had already hit ground before anyone knew it.

At virtually the exact moment that Pikachu's attack hit the disoriented Marowak and sent a massive cloud of dust into the air, another blast of air shot past the trainers creating an odd phenomenon as a pocket of air appeared in between the ground and the rising dust.

Finally completely coming to his senses, Aaron's eyes scoured over the battlefield.

"Fearow! Marowak!"

Quickly locating them, he knew it was over. Marowak was unmoving in the middle of the field and Fearow was off to the side, the same spot he fell from when the blast wave initially hit.

Looking over at Ash, his opponent seemed as calm as ever even though neither of his Pokémon were anywhere within sight.

Just then a loud call was heard above them. Shooting back down, at a speed far slower than what he was just at, Pidgeot gave one large beat of his wings and landed gracefully behind Ash. He was a mess, there were blackened feathers all across his body, mainly on the leading edges of his wings, but he still looked proud and regal with his crest remaining completely unmarred as he stood behind his trainer. And perched on his shoulder was none other than Pikachu looking just as proud about the results.

Holding his right hand into the air, Ash's Pidgeot happily brought his head down for the boy to give him a congratulatory scratch to his neck.

"You guys did perfect," he told them with a large smile on his face. "And I expected nothing less."

Jumping off of Pidgeot's shoulder and onto Ash's, Pikachu didn't look as bad as Pidgeot, but he wasn't in 100% condition either.

"Pipikachu!" He called out while holding out his hand and fingers in a "V" shape as he brought back his old victory pose.

Seconds after, the entire stadium's silence was shattered as the roars of applause rang out.

* * *

><p>Okay first of all, if you think you know at least part of what that last move was based on and have too many questions of the physics involved, I think that it's best not to think too deeply into it. Both physics and biology weep when it comes to the rules of Pokémon. Just as a few examples (which are taken right from the Pokédex): at 18,000° F Magcargo's body is 1.8 times the temperature of the surface of the sun, in the time it takes you to blink an eye <em>one<em> of Machamp's arms can hit a total of 37 times, and this last one is probably something that Ash is very glad that the anime didn't completely consider, Charizard spits fire hot enough to melt boulders. Well stone becomes magma at about 1300-2400° F (~700-1300° C), and at that temperature not only would the boulders melt but the human body would begin to liquefy as well, of course that's assuming that you wouldn't just burn up in the process. And as the author of who summarized this and more stated: "Conclusion: Pokémon are really freaking hax."

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next one will be up as usual.


	26. Chapter 26

Well considering the amount of reviews that I got the last couple chapters I think I can tell where all of the real interest in my story is, lol. But it looks as though I haven't lost my touch at least. Although I want to mention that you all have no idea how much I wanted to use my older version of Ash and Raichu in that battle to pull off a few new moves but it all worked out well in the end so I have no regrets.

Sadly this chapter won't be as fast paced as the last two but we're transitioning from the battle rounds to the final appeals round so it's only natural. Thanks to all those that reviewed the last chapter, onto number 26.

* * *

><p>Even with Ash and his opponent walking off, the cheers from the crowd were far from dying down. But even with the massive amount of applause and cheers coming from the stands, a large portion of them were still holding their hands over their ears from the loud sound wave that shook the stadium.<p>

Finally getting away from May's grasp, Eevee caught Pikachu's victory pose right before Pidgeot was returned to his ball. Unsure of why her trainer covered her eyes the whole time, she was just glad that the battle was over. Sure, she was ecstatic that they won but the fact that he was now safe again was a big relief to her.

"Well I think I understand why Ash had use these now," Dawn said as she took the earplugs out of her ears as well as Piplup's. "Even with them in that blast was pretty loud. How was it without them Drew?"

"It hurts, so please, not right now," the coordinator complained while holding his ringing ears. He may not have understood what just happened but the pain coming from them was probably not as bad as it could have been and he hoped that it wouldn't be anything permanent. Even if hindsight was telling him that he should have run out for earplugs when he heard that Ash got them for the girls, how could he have expected something like this to happen?

"How about you May?" The blunette ask while turning to the other girl. "May?"

To her surprise the brunette was somewhat unresponsive, but the thing that was worrying was the fact that even after Ash's win she didn't look all that enthused.

"May?"

"Oh, sorry. Yes Dawn?" As she turned to Dawn, the smile that the Hoenn native had on seemed normal enough but for some reason Dawn felt very nervous watching it. She quietly thanked the fact that she hadn't gotten on May's mad side, because for some reason she was getting the feeling it wouldn't be as calm and sweet as she normally was.

"How are you feeling after the match?"

"Oh." Taking the earplugs of her ears as well as Eevee's, May was truly happy to see Ash's win, but there was still something that really bothered her with it. And it wasn't fair to show anything to them because it wasn't their fault. She'd deal with it later. "What can I say? It's great that Ash won, but I think we should probably get moving. We need to meet up with him and it's hard to hear with all of these people here."

Getting up from their seats, the three teens headed out of the stands and towards the back hallways. On the way the conversations were already starting up again.

"Wow that was intense, are you sure that he's not a famous coordinator?"

"I've never heard of him at least, but I've heard a few people mention that he could be a league trainer. And from what that battle looked like it's probably true."

"Who cares if he's a coordinator or a trainer, that battle was great! I just hope he makes it to the finals so we can see something like that again."

"Yeah but he has to make it through the next round first, another appeal round. He better be good with his coordinator skills too if he wants to pass that."

"Hey if that means that I want to see a trainer beat a coordinator in an appeal round, I'll do it just to see a possible repeat of that battle."

Smiling at the fact that even not being a coordinator he was gaining fans at a contest of all places, May was feeling a sense of pride at the simple thought.

"_I know I didn't do nearly as much for him this time around as he has done for me, but is this how he feels when he watches me do well in a contest?"_ She found herself wondering. _"It's weird that I feel like this, but I'm happy to see him succeed, and proud that I was even able help him to achieve it. No matter how slight it may be. Being able to tell everyone that I know him and that he's my best friend is rather uplifting."_

Exiting out into the hallways just as the announcer was introducing the next two contestants, they were still relatively empty with the battles being one right after the other.

"So Drew," Dawn spoke up as they started down to the trainer prep room. "Still think that Ash isn't all that great?"

"I never said that he wasn't, in his own area at least," the boy countered, finally taking his hands away from his ears. But even if they were no longer painful it was still a very uncomfortable feeling that he was getting from them. "Though could you at least keep it down? My ears are still ringing after that move of his. I just still think that a league trainer shouldn't be trying to enter contests. The way they battle is ungraceful and values nothing more than brute strength, and with the way his points were going it showed."

"You know you sound a lot like one of my friends from Sinnoh. Just because they're a trainer doesn't mean that they can't be coordinators as well. Ash may not have the best way of going about a contest and isn't the brightest bulb in the world for a lot of things, there's no denying that. But when it comes to Pokémon he is a virtual genius, even if he might not realize it himself. If he really wants to go for it, anything is possible for him. I'd almost like to say that's part of the reason that drew me to follow him as a friend. But if he's this good now, he'll be even better in the years to come. And then his future kids will probably only be better."

"Yeah, I don't need the lecture. I'm not that bad at reading people." Turning back to May, there was something more important on his mind than Ketchum's potential. Even if it was possibly because of it that he had a bad feeling. "So May, you've considered my offer right? While I didn't think that I would lose, facts are facts. But I still hope that you will join me in Sinnoh. I know what you know and what you need to learn better than almost anyone else out there."

Taking a bit of a deep breath, even if she knew that what he said still held a large amount of truth, May already knew her answer.

"Sorry Drew, but I think I'll stick with Ash," she responded as politely as possible. "I don't deny that you could know exactly what I might need to get better but it just wouldn't be the same. I just have so much fun with Ash and training never feels like we're actually training. I also know that no matter how much he studies coordinating to help me, I'll have a different style than all the other coordinators. But I'm fine with being different, and I enjoy having Ash as my teacher. As long as I have the confidence to succeed and my friends' support, I can overcome anything that blocks my way. Besides, we just joined back up and I want to be able to spend some more time with him."

"I can't help but wonder if there was another reason that you chose him over me."

"Not really. Why would you think that?"

"Never mind, it's not important," Drew said while shaking his head slightly. He didn't entirely believe her answer but for now it wasn't his place to say otherwise. "Well I can't persuade you to change your mind now that it's been set, but I hope you still consider coming up to participate in the Sinnoh Grand Festival. I need at least someone to be up at my level." Opening up his jacket and taking out another of his iconic roses he handed it to the brunette. "And it wouldn't feel right to go into the festival without knowing that I wouldn't be able to show you who's the better coordinator."

"I'll be glad to remind you every time just like today," May countered without a second thought. But she still accepted the rose, even if she knew what would eventually happen to it. She never had the heart to tell him what happened to every one of those beautiful flowers.

"I'll be around to watch the other rounds but I'll be heading out tomorrow. I won't expect anything but taking first place for you."

"I'm not doing this for you Drew; I'm doing it for myself."

"No matter." Turning and walking down the opposite way the two girls were headed, he gave a small wave. "Later."

"So you're doing this for yourself huh?" Dawn taunted a little. "Didn't you want to say that you're doing this for Ash?"

"Well…" Hesitating slightly, she knew that the answer was obvious enough to the blunette. "I am doing it for myself, that part is unwavering, because I want to go back to doing what I love. But, I am doing it for him too," she answered in a soft voice. "I've said it before, he always looks at me with such expectations and I don't want to let him down. He did all this for me so I at least want to make sure that he isn't disappointed either."

"There ya go, now that's being honest with yourself. And I think you should probably tell Ash about that offer of Drew's sometime soon, even if you decided to go with him and not Drew he still should know." Starting to walk down the hallway towards where Ash was probably waiting for them, Dawn may not have known about Ash's failed confession the night before but even still she knew that they were getting closer to what she saw as the goal.

"Well at least that's one problem out of the way," May said to Eevee. "But now there's a little something that I need to get off my chest as well with Ash. I'm happy that he won, heck I'm more than happy. But I'm still annoyed at him."

Noticing that the Normal-Type's attention wasn't on her, the brunette gave off a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, you don't have to say anything, here."

Holding the rose up to her level, Eevee was more than willing to partake in one of her favorite pastimes. Even more so now that the idea of having to travel with the boy was gone completely while staying with Ash and Pikachu. But, like her trainer, as happy as she was, even this wasn't going to be enough to relieve her of her built up stress.

* * *

><p>"That was great Ash!" Dawn praised him. "I still can't believe that ending! Right May?"<p>

"Right."

Outside the trainer's prep room, Dawn and May caught up with Ash as he was walking out from his latest victory. Pikachu was on his shoulder, looking somewhat exhausted but very enthusiastic about the win.

"Thanks Dawn." Ash was also very happy about how the last round went, but he couldn't find the resolve to stay that way for long. While Dawn looked just as excited as he was, May seemed very uninterested in what was going on and her mood was far mellower than what Ash was expecting. It also didn't help that Eevee seemed to be in the same mood. "What's wrong May?"

Walking up to the trainer, May acted before Ash could do anything. Luckily for Pikachu, his reflexes were better than his trainer's and he was able to move out of the way in time by jumping to the floor.

The sound of a solid smack rang out around the hallways. Dawn couldn't help from visibly flinching at the sight as Ash staggered back a couple steps.

"_Dang,"_ she thought. _"I knew she wasn't happy about something but now I'm really glad it was him and not me. That looked like it hurt."_

"Ah, I feel much better," May finally said with a smile while shaking the sting out of her hand.

"Ow," Ash gasped as he rubbed his cheek, the same one that the brunette just slapped with what was probably all of her strength. Of which he was surprised to find out she had plenty of. "Okay, I assume I deserved that. But would you mind filling me in as to why?"

"You may be great at impromptu strategies Ash, but please don't put Pikachu in that kind of position again anytime soon," she told him, looking as stern as ever. "You do know the results if any part of that was off by even the slightest bit, right?"

"I imagine you're talking about our Mach Meteor when you say that right?" Receiving a nod from the coordinator, Ash gave a big sigh. "You don't have to worry about that, I know the dangers of using it. I came up with it after all. First of all you should know by now that I would never put my Pokémon in a position they didn't want to be in, and Pikachu is no exception. He knew the risks but trusted in both me and Pidgeot to pull it off perfectly. Also, if at any time he felt as though he was in danger from the attack we had a signal that could cancel it immediately. Pidgeot wasn't even flying at his top speed, so it would have been simple for him to catch up to and grab Pikachu before anything happened."

"Wait, that wasn't even his max speed?" Dawn asked. "When he flew past the stadium that last time he vanished right before my eyes, and you're saying that he can go even faster? That's incredible, how were you even able to pull that off?"

"Precise timing and a lot of speed," the trainer explained with his iconic grin returning to his face. "Pikachu's portion was rather straightforward, dive down and hit the enemy while being the first distraction. We needed that height to allow Pidgeot enough time to gain the initial speed he needed to break through the sound barrier, thus the Mach portion of Mach Meteor. While training yesterday I found out that when something breaks that barrier a crack like lightning comes off followed by a blast of pressurized air that feels like you just hit a wall. I had to make a trip to the town's library to actually understand it all though.

"During the final part of our battle, Pidgeot never touched Fearow; it was all that wave's doing. Not only did it knock out one Pokémon, it also created the second distraction to allow Pikachu to come down and initiate his attack, a Volt Tail enhanced by the speed he was already falling at. Of course to keep Pikachu safe, Pidgeot had to circle back around and catch him at the right moment, just after hitting Marowak but before he hit the ground himself. If it wasn't for his Keen Eye ability, I doubt that we could have pulled the move off."

"A bit complicated in my opinion, but what works, works. Grats Ash. You even shut Drew up completely after that attack. But then again it could have been because he was still recovering from that blast wave," she finished with a giggle. "Too bad we didn't entirely warn him about the ear plugs until it was too late."

"Drew was with you?"

"He wanted to try and prove that he was still the greater trainer. Thanks to your performance, he completely failed at doing that," Dawn completed with a large grin.

"Besides that little issue, you did great Ash," May finally congratulated him. "The Sinnoh League Champ finally shows his true mettle and everyone around us took notice. Only two rounds left. Although Pikachu should be thanking me later, I kept Eevee from seeing that last attack. She wasn't very happy seeing him do those lower drops, so I didn't want her to even think about one from that height."

"Actually May, Ash didn't even show this much while he was in the Sinnoh League," Dawn said to her with a smirk. "He must have a bit more incentive this time around."

"Don't think too much into that comment May," the trainer hastily corrected. "I was just having fun being able to use Pidgeot again. But thanks guys. And if Eevee was that mad without seeing the Mach Meteor, I'd hate to see her if she did." Realizing that his partner was no longer near his feet, nor was Eevee on May's shoulder, Ash looked around to find them walking down the hall. Eevee was in front, obviously ignoring Pikachu, while the Electric-Type seemed to be pleading with her, a somewhat familiar sight.

Finally stopping, the Evolution Pokémon looked back over her shoulder at the one following her. Stopping as well, Pikachu could only hope that she was finally willing to reconsider, even if he didn't know exactly what she was mad at him for in the first place.

Like his trainer though he was ambushed by the female. Turning around, the Normal-Type struck him right in the stomach with a Headbutt, knocking the air out of the poor Pokémon and causing him to fall to the ground.

Walking up to the slightly wheezing Pokémon, Eevee did a quick 'humph' while facing away from him and turning her head into the air. But only moments later, she lay down next to him and rested her head on his body. While Pikachu had absolutely no clue what was going on, Eevee thought that her punishment for what he was doing in that last battle was dealt. Just seeing him come that close to injury that many times had caused her an untold amount of stress, and she wanted to relieve it. It also didn't help that she still had worries every time she saw Pidgeot. Not because she didn't trust the bird, but it only reminded her of her own incident in the forest only days ago. And with him coming down to catch Pikachu every time, it was all too similar looking and just thinking about it caused her to shudder. Even if she had an odd way of going about it, she was still glad that he was relatively uninjured.

"So now that those two seemed to have made back up, how about we all go take a rest while we wait for the round to finish so we can see the times for Round 3?" Ash suggested.

"Sounds good to me," May chimed in as she picked up their two Pokémon into her arms. "Only one more round Ash, then we can finally see if we will meet each other in the finals."

"Not an 'if' May, we will be there. And it's then we'll show these guys how to really go about battling Pokémon."

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for the round to finish up and once again the contestants awaited the announcement of the next round. Understandably the crowd was much smaller than it was yesterday and with part of the results already known they were less rowdy too.<p>

"Welcome contestants and congratulations to those of you who were able to make it through the second round! We are now down to no more than 25 remaining trainers and only two of them will be able to make it to the final round. Even if only the top two will be moving on to the final round, our remaining rewards will go out all the way down to number ten. As such, those top ten will be posted by the end of the day. Without any further delay, here are the results from today's battles and when the winners will be participating in round three."

As the names began appearing on the screen, it wasn't long before both Ash and May's lit up.

"Looks like you're the second one up at 1:40 May," Dawn said as the names finished posting. "And Ash isn't until 3:20."

"Great, go from watching Ash's match straight to my own." Feigning annoyance, May went to hand Pikachu back to Ash. "Guess that means I'll be heading over to the trainer's room then. See you guys in a bit."

Walking off to the now familiar room, May flashed her registration card and went to sit down to await her turn.

"I probably don't have to say this seeing as how you got your anger out already Eevee, but don't be too mad at Pikachu," the coordinator told her Pokémon as they waited.

"Vee."

Looking back up at the brunette from her position on the girl's lap, Eevee made it clear that she wasn't mad at the Electric-Type. At least not anymore. Besides after hearing virtually the same thing come from Ash, she didn't need to be told twice. Now that she has gotten over that odd feeling, she was enjoying being able to sleep curled up with Pikachu at night. Sure she still wanted to make sure that she was still near May, but what she felt from being next to Pikachu was now something that she wanted just as much if not more. So while she still got mad at him, Eevee knew that she couldn't stay mad at him for long.

"Well that's good to hear. You two have gotten so close as of late I would hate for a decision of Ash's to ruin it." Taking out Venusaur's Pokéball, May could still feel the excitement of beating Drew and getting to the third round.

"I can't believe that we even made it this far Eevee. A week ago I wouldn't have even entered this for fear of what the outcome would inevitably be. But now, we're down to the top 25 out of 143 originally. Even if we don't make it to the final round I'm more than happy for how far we've gotten. Drew was able to get to third place in Johto after beating me in the second round. The fact that I beat him in the second round of this tournament seems almost too convenient, but it's an irony that I can't say I dislike. It makes up for the fact that I didn't place well in that Grand Festival because it almost feels like I made it to the top three too. And while he may be too humble to say it, it's all because of Ash that we got this far. I'm still not sure if what Dawn was saying about not being near Ash was my problem through Johto, but I can't deny that we're doing well again now that he's with us." Pausing for a moment, the brunette looked back down at the Normal-Type in her lap. "So along with what I said to Drew, I've decided something else. Tonight I'm going to ask Ash if we can travel with him again. Contests aside, I think it would be fun for it to be just us again, don't you?"

Cocking her head at the comment, Eevee wasn't sure at first how to take it. Every moment that she could remember, it was four humans that were traveling together before May went to Johto.

"Right, you wouldn't know what that was like, would you? Okay then, how about if I phrase it this way. How would you like to spend at least the next year with just Ash and Pikachu? There might not be any contests during that time, but we'll be staying with them until we finally do see more."

"Vee!"

Now that was easy to imagine. While she didn't mind having other humans there as well, just the fact that her and her trainer could stay with Ash and, more importantly, Pikachu, was something that she would love. Besides, with her wanting to get her trainer and Ash even closer that wouldn't be a bad result in the end.

"I knew you would like that," May said to her with a smile. "As I've told you before, when I first met Ash it was originally just going to be the two of us who were traveling but then Max joined in, and soon after that Brock. While I didn't mind being with them, especially Max because it still felt like I wasn't too far from home at the time, Ash was the most fun to be with. And although it would be different to start up again with just the two of us, I think that it would still be fun. After going through Johto I won't need to worry about feeling homesick and as long as Ash can cook like he did that night I don't think we need to rely as much on Brock. Although I still want to pay him back by trying to make something for him sometime." Hearing the round of applause and her name being called out, May looked over at the clock on the wall. "Wow that time went fast."

Helping Eevee back up to her usual spot on her shoulder, May stood up with Venusaur's Pokéball still in her hand. Taking a deep breath in preparation, the brunette looked as invigorated as ever.

"That being said, I still want to win this and meet up with Ash in the finals. That way it'll only make my suggestion of traveling together seem all that much better."

Walking out into the stadium, May could feel the slight bit of nervousness that came back to her every time she was ready to perform. To her though, it wasn't just some extra tournament that she was walking out to, it was another Grand Festival. Going to hold her ribbon one last time for that boost of confidence, she finally felt ready.

"Next up is contestant May Maple."

Taking the Pokéball in her hand, May took a look to the judges to get their okay before tossing it out into the ring.

"Venusaur, take the stage!"

Popping out from the sphere, Venusaur dropped down about a foot letting her flower and its leaves shake slightly. As the petals shook, a wave of pink dust-like pollen wafted up and into the air, filling it with its sweet and calming scent.

"Alright great start Venusaur," May called out, still in her good mood. "Now Petal Dance into Growth!"

"Saur!"

Letting off a burst of her Petal Dance attack, Venusaur launched a number of pink flower petals into the air and let them start to slowly fall down to the ground. As the first one hit the earth, a flower began to bloom where it landed. And around each flower, grass filled the excess area. It wasn't long until the last petal fell and the Kanto starter had turned the barren arena into a field of grass and flowers of every color and kind.

"Time to finish it all off, another Petal Dance and Razor Leaf to slice it all up!"

Concentrating on the attack, Venusaur opened her eyes right after she sent out the first wave of flower petals. She needed to be very precise with her next attack to pull of the finisher that May had in mind.

Firing off multitudes of the sharp edged leaves, the flight of each was not only enough to slice the pink petals to small bits, but the arcs from each leaf intersected with each other and cut themselves up as well. The end result was a shower of pink and green confetti falling around the Pokémon and onto the newly created field of flowers.

"Remarkable control," one of the Nurse Joy judges exclaimed. "That Growth attack was used at the perfect time and place for every one of the Petal Dance's flowers."

"Yes top notch," another judge agreed.

"And that was May Maple folks!" The announcer called out as the applause from the stadium started.

Waving to the crowd along with Eevee, May was very happy with how it went. Not a single mistake and it looked exactly like she envisioned while she was practicing with Ash.

Returning her Pokémon to its Pokéball, May walked off the stage and into the prep room.

* * *

><p>"That was just perfect May, now we just have to see if any of the other performances can compare to that."<p>

Outside the trainer's room, the brunette met up with Dawn and Piplup, but her other companions were mysteriously absent.

"Thanks Dawn, but where are Ash and Pikachu?"

"After seeing your performance he suddenly decided to go out and practice his own to try and even match yours," Dawn told her. "Or at least those were his words. He did tell me to congratulate you on successfully hitting that Razor Leaf though."

"That was the part he helped me the most with." Smiling as she remembered the time he put in to help her get that exactly like she wanted, May was wishing that he would be able to pull off his own routine. "So if he went off to do his training I guess it would once again be a waste of time to try and find him, wouldn't it?"

"Most likely, after we found his spot where he was training with Pikachu and Pidgeot I doubt that he would go back there. Probably not because of us, but knowing that Drew was watching his last match and he doesn't want to be disturbed. In the meantime how about we go and watch those other appeals to see if any of them even come close to yours."

* * *

><p>By 3:10 Ash was already inside of the prep room waiting his turn. Having come back from his last minute training with Ivysaur, he wanted to make sure that everything was as good as it was going to get. He only had one chance at this and there was no room for error.<p>

"This'll be the hardest round for us Pikachu," he said to his partner. "We need to be in the top two to be able to get through, and with real coordinators here it's not going to be easy by any means."

"Pikachu."

"But Bulba… I mean Ivysaur has tried his hardest to master our routine these past few days and we can only rely on the fact that he wants to win this as much as any league battle. I'm still surprised that he was willing to finally evolve after all these years. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that he isn't entirely the same Bulbasaur I've known all this time. And yet it seems only on the surface that he isn't, everything else I see in him is the same Pokémon that I've had for six years. The determination, the stubbornness, and willing to keep going, it's all the same. In one sense he hasn't changed on bit since we first met him, has he Pikachu?"

"Pika," the mouse nodded. Pikachu could still faintly remember the brief battle he had with the Grass-Type, and at the time it was no easy battle either. It was only Bulbasaur's inexperience with Electric-Types that allowed Pikachu to win that battle in the end.

"We've done everything we can do to prepare for this, so now we can only trust in Ivysaur. And when we do win this round, it'll be onto the finals with May." Thinking about it for a moment, Ash reached into the pocket of his new jeans to find the ribbon that he made sure to put in there this morning. Pulling it out to look at, the object only brought up images in his mind of her smile. "I've also made up my mind. No matter how hard it might be, I'm going to say everything to May tonight. If all goes well and we both make it into the finals, it'll only make the moment all that much better. I wasn't able to do it last night, but I will tonight."

After another minute or two, Ash heard the applause of the crowd as the last trainer finished up his routine. Putting the ribbon back in his pocket, Ash mentally prepared himself for the upcoming performance. It wasn't long until he was signaled to walk out to the arena.

Stepping out into the sun, he made his way over to the trainer's box. Sadly the workers had cleared away the remnants of May's performance by that time.

"Next we have contestant Ash Ketchum."

Taking Ivysaur's Pokéball from his belt, Ash waited a moment before throwing it onto the field.

"Ivysaur, I choose you!"

As the orb opened, Ivysaur dropped down onto the field. He knew that he was supposed to do a flip and use his vines to right himself in the process, but he was going to disobey his trainer once again. He had other plans for the opening portion.

"_Come on Ivysaur we practiced this more than enough times,"_ Ash thought as he started to get nervous at his Pokémon's entrance. _"Out of all the times you could be stubborn, why do you decide not to do it now?"_

Ash's mental question was soon answered. Bowing his head down to the ground, Ivysaur started to glow white.

"No," the trainer nearly gasped. "He's…"

Like the last time it happened, only days ago, Ivysaur started to grow in size. But this time the size increase was far greater. He grew to over twice the size he was before and many more times heavier. From within the white glow, observers could make out the flower on his back start to bloom and open up. As the light faded away, Ivysaur was once again no more.

"Venusaur," the large Pokémon bellowed.

"Ivysaur, you've evolved, again," Ash said to himself while cracking a smile. Quickly brushing it off, he realized what was going through his Pokémon's head and knew he had to go with the flow. "Okay Venusaur, let's start this off big! Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Vine Whip!"

"Saur!"

Retracting the leaves to the plant on his back slightly, Venusaur extended his massive vines in the helical spiral pattern that they had been training for the last few days to master and once they were in position he launched all three status inducing attacks off simultaneously. Each attack was nothing more than a fine powder that shined in the wind, but every one of them shone in its own color; purple, gold, and blue respectively. With them all floating up into the air from the force of the initial burst, it all kept around the Grass-Type's vines.

"And spin!"

This was the maneuver that caused Bulbasaur to decide to evolve in the first place, and knowing that he could do it proficiently as an Ivysaur, but still not to a level equal to that May's Venusaur was able to produce, he was confident that now in his final stage of evolution he could now match that. Rapidly releasing his vines from the spiral they were in, he created a spinning vortex of air that glittered all three colors. Spiraling out around the central tornado, the rest of the powder followed suit but at a slower pace, creating several layers of dust with each layer moving at a slower speed than the last.

While the judges and audience were staring at the first part of the performance, Venusaur started to filter sunlight into his flower.

"Doing great Venusaur! Now Razor Leaf into a SolarBeam to finish it off!"

Firing off a volley of leaves into the swirling mass of powder, the large beam of solar energy wasn't far behind. The sheer power of the attack caused the leaves and dust to be sucked into its wake as it soared by. The air around the stadium suddenly became clear.

It then started slowly, a speck here and there. Before long the rest came down. It was almost like rainfall. All around the stadium rainbow colored dust fell in and around the audience as leaves slowly floated down along with them. Thankfully at those concentrations the poisonous spores were no more deadly than simple pollen and it only created the finisher that Ash had envisioned. The entire round went almost exactly like he wanted.

In fact it was even better than he expected. When they were practicing, Ivysaur couldn't get that many layers moving in the initial launching of the powders and his SolarBeam wasn't able to gather up as many spores as it flew past, nor able to spread it over such a wide area.

Taking one last bow along with his two Pokémon, Ash awaited the judges' comments.

"Your appeal started off somewhat roughly," the first judge, a man in a suit, explained. "But even though your Pokémon evolved in the middle of the round, you were able to control everything to near perfection and end it on a wonderful note."

"I agree completely," Nurse Joy added. "To be able to put on a display like that right after Venusaur evolved shows the deep bond that you two share. Well done."

It was then that the applause and cheers started.

Watching Venusaur walk up to him, Ash couldn't help giving the Seed Pokémon a big hug.

"You did all this for me Venusaur," he told the Grass-Type. "Even if we don't win I'm more grateful than I could ever say for what you did for me. You even evolved just for me when after all these years you resisted it tooth and nail. Thank you."

"Saur," the Pokémon said to him with a large smile.

Extending a vine, Venusaur helped his trainer back to his feet. They still needed to look proper, even if the round was over for them.

* * *

><p>Okay so while I didn't know exactly how powerful a close range sonic boom would be I knew that it would have some power to it, but I'm not diabolic enough to cause permanent damage to Drew and the rest of the audience who weren't ready for Ash's attack. Though I still wanted to have some fun with our lovable punching bag.<p>

Much like last month at about this time I'll be holding back the updates for the upcoming holiday. So the next update will be up in four days, Tuesday for at least my readers in North America. Enjoy your time with family and friends and I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays. See you next week.


	27. Chapter 27

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable weekend.

Before I start off this chapter I think that I should probably say something quick that many people commented on last chapter, the speed of Ivysaur's evolution to Venusaur. In one sense it was real quick with him going from stage 2 to stage 3 in a matter of days. But the way that I was seeing it was a little differently. It's fact at least that he could have evolved into Ivysaur nearly six years ago (if we actually include the fact that time passes in the Pokémon world) so he's had six extra years of experience beyond that. In game terms at least that would probably put him at a level past where he would evolve to Venusaur. So to wind this down, with everything that he's been through he was far enough along that all he had to do was let evolution take its course and his experience would allow him to go all the way to the last stage.

A roundabout way of thinking about it maybe but that's how I saw it. Not to mention that Venusaur works out nicely in this story for multiple reasons. So without making you wait any longer, thanks to all those who reviewed over the holiday weekend and welcome back to chapter 27.

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><p>"I can't believe that you pulled that off so well Ash," May cheered for him after they met up again. "Ivysaur was getting what to do down real well but he wasn't able to get it perfected. Not only did his evolution give him what he needed to be able pull that off, but it also created a rare scene to start off the appeal. I hate to say it but I think you did even better than I did."<p>

"I don't think that I would go that far May," the trainer humbly stated. "But Venusaur worked that hard in part to make sure that I would have a good chance to make it into the finals. Bulbasaur was always resistant to evolving and by this point in time I had come to accept the fact that he would want to stay as he was for the rest of his life. So I was surprised that he decided to finally allow himself to evolve to Ivysaur, and you can guess how I felt when he allowed himself to go even further."

"He was always a stubborn one Ash," May told him. "Whatever it was that changed his mind, whether it was the fact he didn't have enough power to be able to pull off your appeal or something else, he became determined to finally make it all the way and made sure to hold off his final stage until you were on stage."

"Bad play on words May, but it makes sense," Dawn chuckled. "From all of the appeals so far, I would have to say that both of you have a very good chance at making it to the finals. And with the wide display of your own appeal's finisher Ash, it only adds even more points to your final score. As for May's the amount of precision and control that Growth needed to create those flowers exactly where they were needed will be the focus. From what I saw, none of the other coordinators could even compare to what you two did. Now we can only hope that the judges think the same thing."

"Seeing as how there are only a few contestants left, should we head out to the courtyard to watch them there and wait for the results?" May suggested, still in high spirits from their two rounds. "With Ash now done all we can really do now is wait and hope."

"I don't see anything wrong with that May. We can make sure to get a good spot up front too." As he started to walk towards the door with his two friends following, Ash noticed out of the corner of his eye Pikachu jump down to the ground and run up to May's other shoulder, opposite of Eevee. Smiling at the fact that his Pokémon had found the one he wanted to be with, and she apparently enjoyed being with him just as much as he did, Ash could only hope that tonight he could come up with the courage to tell the same thing to the girl he wanted to be with.

Walking outside, the three friends caught the last couple appeals on the stadium courtyard's main screen. After they were finished, the remaining contestants and some of the spectators came out to where one of the officials was announcing the results in person.

"Welcome back, everyone. As you all know, this is the point that most of you have been waiting for, the results of the round three singles appeal. Again we would like to congratulate everyone who made it this far, but only two will be making it to the next round. We will start with the coordinator who placed tenth and go up from there. So without any further wait, here are your top ten." As the names started to appear on the big screen, the announcer read them off. "Number ten, Jessica Hope. Number nine, Ryan Black."

One by one she read off the names, at times you could hear cheers from various parts of the crowd and at other times groans, each one telling what that person was grateful for achieving. As the numbers counted down, Ash and May's names were still absent from the list.

"And number three, Sarah Warren. Now congratulations to the last eight contestants, you can claim your prizes from the main offices. But here's what you've really been wanting to hear, the top two contestants of round three and the two trainers heading to the finals. Number two, May Maple."

"I did it!"

Nearly jumping for joy at hearing her name come in as second place, the brunette was overjoyed at the fact that she made it to the finals. Hearing words of congratulations from her two friends, May turned back to the screen. Even if she made it to the finals it wouldn't mean nearly as much if Ash wasn't there with her.

"We are now down to the last one. The number one coordinator from round three and the other contender for the finals, Ash Ketchum!" As she finished speaking, the screen switched to what looked to be the recording of Ash's appeal. "What helped set this appeal apart from the others for the judges was the evolution of his Ivysaur right at the beginning of the round. But that was only part of it, while it is a rare sight, it alone is not enough to warrant first place. What really made it was his already impressive presentation, virtually perfectly executed only seconds after his Pokémon's evolution. Not only does this show the extent of the bond that these two share, but it also shows the coordinator's adaptability to adjust for the situation. So I hope you will join me in congratulating not only Mr. Ketchum, but May Maple as well for making it to the final round. The last round of the tournament will take place at 12 noon tomorrow. Both contenders are to be here at least a half-hour before then. Until then, we wish you all a goodnight and hope to see you here again tomorrow."

Watching his Venusaur up on the screen, Ash also could barely contain his excitement. Not only did he make it to the finals but he actually took first place in the appeals round. As if to only make it better, right along with him in those finals was May.

"Alright! Congratulations you two!" Dawn cheered with Piplup at the two friends. "You both made it to the finals! Out of 143 people you actually made it! Still think that you've lost your touch May?"

"I might have lost it but I know now that I've found it again," she told the other coordinator. "I may not have got first place in that round but after seeing Ash's performance I'm not embarrassed by taking second. That's not to say I'm going to let you beat me in the finals Ash, I still plan on taking the number one spot of the tournament."

"I wouldn't have it any other way May, and with us only having one Pokémon left each it'll also come down to a bit of luck as to who we chose. First though I think that we should reintroduce our two who allowed us to get into the finals. I get the feeling that if it wasn't for seeing your Venusaur; Bulbasaur wouldn't have even started to consider even evolving into Ivysaur. I think they would also like to hear the results as well."

"I don't see any problem with that at least. Although I also think that we should probably find a quieter spot to do that. Now that our pictures are up, as the two finalists we probably won't be able to be left alone anytime soon."

Sure enough as they were standing there people were already starting to recognize them as the two who won. Luckily for Ash it didn't seem like any of them realized his already, if only temporary, celebrity status up in Sinnoh. Not that he wanted to stay around long enough for them to figure it out though. Most were simple congratulations as the person walked by, but some were starting to get a bit clingier asking either various personal questions or tips and suggestions about coordinating.

Ash and Dawn were more or less used to this sight from his exit of the stadium a little over a week ago, but May was slightly confused at what was going on. Even if she had received some attention at times while at the Grand Festivals, it was nothing like this. The amount of people for what at first seemed like a backwater tournament was surprising, the promoters apparently did a good job figuring out the best time for when to hold the competition to get the best turn out. Even if the tournament was free to enter, the amount of business that it brought the town was probably staggering with the droves of people that it brought with it.

Eventually making their way out of the crowd, the three teens and their Pokémon found a bit more secluded spot in a nearby park. It was the same spot that Ash had used to get away from the others the night before. Unlike then though the day was still bright in the late afternoon sky and they could more easily see the hill leading down and into the forest below. Much like the hills that were between Pallet and Viridian, such as the one Ash and May fell down, it was rather steep, but unlike that one the amount of plant growth on this one was minimal and the ground didn't have the multitudes of rocks jutting out everywhere, just a flowing plain of grass waving in the wind. What it did allow though was the perfect view of the horizon as the sea of trees stretched out below it.

"Okay Venusaur, take the stage!" May called out while throwing her Pokéball.

Opening in the usual flash of light, the large Grass-Type appeared and looked up expectantly at her trainer.

"Nope, no more contests today Venusaur," the brunette told her. "We just thought that you guys would want to know the results of the round for Ash and I."

"And I think there will be one more thing that'll you'll enjoy seeing Venusaur," Ash added in. "Alright, come on out!"

Tossing his Pokéball out, Ash's own Kanto starter appeared next to May's Pokémon. Now right next to one another, May's Venusaur was shocked to see the Pokémon that came out of the ball was now the same size as her. The only real difference between the two was that he didn't have a seed protruding from the center of his flower.

"Saur."

Extending his vine, Ash's Venusaur started to rub his counterpart across the top of her forehead. Although he could guess that she knew who he was, he hoped that gesture was enough to put any doubts to rest. To her though there was never a question as to who it could be in the first place. She knew it was him even in his new form.

As before, the big Pokémon relaxed as soon as his vine reached her head, and as before it brought back memories of them together at Oak's Ranch while their trainers were off traveling through Kanto. It was a feeling that she wanted to be able to continue to experience now that she had finally be reintroduced to it after all this time.

"You two seem pleased to see each other," May happily told them. "But that's only half the news, now for the results of the last round. Thanks to both of your efforts, Ash and I did pretty well."

The fact that she didn't outright tell them that they placed in a position that they wanted started to worry the two Pokémon.

"After all was said and done, I placed second. As for Ash, partially thanks to your decision to evolve at that time Venusaur, he took first place with ease."

"Saur!"

Both Pokémon were overjoyed to hear the news. Not only because they didn't let down their trainers' hopes for them but also because they're hard work wasn't put to waste.

"It's too bad that we really can't do too much in terms of training with each other anymore," May said as she sat down on a nearby bench. "Now that we are the only two left in the tournament we will obviously be facing each other tomorrow and it would just be as unfair to both us and it is to the observers if we already knew the Pokémon that we would be facing."

"I don't know about that one May, you both are required to use the last Pokémon that you registered. So you'll be facing the same one no matter what happens."

Sitting down next to her, Dawn resituated Piplup a little to make sure that she wouldn't fall off.

"So in the end you and Ash will still have pretty much the same battle," the blunette continued.

"No I think I'll have to agree with May on this one Dawn. While what you said makes sense, personally I would rather be kept in the dark about who she actually chose as her last Pokémon. Besides, now that we both made it into the finals it doesn't entirely matter who wins now. I'll be content if I won or lose this battle. While I'm still going to take it seriously, I'm now in it more for fun than proving anything. I might use a little of tomorrow morning to practice but tonight I'm going to relax and celebrate. Our main reason for coming here was to get May's confidence back and we now know for sure that she never lost it in the first place. "

With the two girls already on the bench, Ash decided to follow his own words and lay down on the ground near them both. Stretching himself out on the soft blades of grass, the trainer took in the sun's warm rays and closed his eyes enjoying the moment. So much of the last few days were devoted to training and mastering what he needed to proceed in the tournament. Now that he thought about it, besides some points after dark, he hadn't been able to truly relax ever since he made it back to Kanto. Feeling Pikachu resituate himself to his stomach and curl up there, Ash now knew that he too was enjoying the situation. Although even if he had more things to worry about with his battles, Pikachu had more chances to do just this than his trainer.

"Me too," May added. "Sure I want to actually beat Ash for once, but I've already placed well in a tournament that has many high class coordinators in it. Many of them even came fresh from two nearby Grand Festivals."

"Suit yourselves I guess."

Sitting back, Dawn noticed the two Venusaur walking off a short distance before lying down next to each other. Sure that was one possible relationship that she didn't intervene in, but by the looks of it she never had to in the first place. Whether it was as strong as Pikachu and Eevee's she couldn't tell, but they seemed close enough friends that anything could happen. Especially now that they were in the same evolutionary state again so any awkwardness would have dissipated along with it.

"_Now just to deal with the two of them proper,"_ she thought while looking at the other two humans. _"I wish I could rush this a bit more, but I did promise Ash that I wouldn't force the decision on him. It's annoying having to rely on the late bloomers."_

After a few minutes of sitting there, Dawn started to get a little bored.

"Now Ash, when you say that you are planning to relax for the rest of the day, did you mean that you are just going to lay there?"

"At the moment, yeah. I don't see any reason why this wouldn't count. Between training and preparation for the Sinnoh Elite Four, I haven't been able to lie down and enjoy the sun for an extended period of time."

"In that case, I'm up for going shopping." Getting up from her spot, Dawn took one last look at the trainer before moving her gaze to the other teen. "You want to join me May? I at least don't have anything particular in mind of what I actually want to get, I only want to pass the time. Because unlike Ash, I don't think that I can just sit here for the next few hours until I finally get hungry."

"Sure." Taking a Pokéball out of her pack, May walked over to Ash and put it into his hand. Seeing that he opened his eyes to look at what she just put into his hand, the brunette headed back over near Dawn. "That's Venusaur's Pokéball, when you decide to head back to the hotel you can put her back. At the moment she seems content to do the same thing you're doing and I see no reason to take her away from it so that I can go shopping. Mind doing this for me?"

"No problem, as long as I don't have to worry about going with you I'll gladly take on that small task."

"Thanks Ash, okay Dawn now we can go."

Watching the two girls leave out of the corner of his eye, Ash attached May's Pokéball to his belt before stretching out again and shifting slightly to create a more comfortable position for himself while making sure that Pikachu stayed comfortable as well.

"You did a great job today Buddy, along with your help we were actually able to get to the finals." Hearing a grunt from off to his left, the trainer couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "Don't worry I didn't forget about you two," he called out. "You both were very important in that achievement as well."

Looking back to the blue sky, Ash took a deep breath and slowly let it out. But before his thoughts could wander any further he saw a Pokémon flying off in the distance. This was of course nothing all that strange with them being right next to a large forest. The thing that made him really take notice of it though was the Pokémon he saw didn't look like a native species at first, and it was flying directly at him.

Sitting up after carefully moving Pikachu over to the side, he was finally able to recognize it as it got closer. Sure enough it wasn't native like he originally thought. It was a Bug-Type which he saw quite often down in Hoenn, Masquerain. Besides the fact that it was flying right for him, he also noticed that it had an envelope in its mouth.

Coming to a hover right in front of him, the Pokémon dropped the parcel into his lap.

"This is for me then I assume?" He asked the newcomer, who had got the attention of every one of the other Pokémon present. Pikachu though recognized it even further and was wondering what it was doing here.

"Masquerain," it pleasantly nodded.

"Thanks, I guess."

Turning around, it flew off as Ash took a closer look at what he just received. It was a plain white envelope with nothing written on the outside except for his name, Ash Ketchum.

"Well no sense in waiting."

Taking his finger to the paper he opened it and pulled out a note from inside of it. Opening up the folded piece, he couldn't recognize the handwriting but as he read it became clear who it was from.

_To Ketchum_

_I saw the results of the last round, and although I think May deserved first place and not you, I can't deny that your performance was impressive for a trainer. So congratulations. But this letter isn't only about that. I'm writing this to you telling you that at least for the moment you are the winner of our little duel. For years I've been trying to woo May from the sidelines and get her to come to me. When we first met she was always by your side and I didn't feel as though I had a right to interfere, and while we were in Johto I could never attempt to get closer because of her Eevee who for some strange reason had grown hostile to me. While I'm not sure as to what I ever did to make her feel that way, it is beside the point now._

_As of last night I offered for May to accompany me to Sinnoh to continue coordinating along with the other people that consider her one of their rivals. I told her that your style of training wasn't the best way for her to learn and that I could be a better teacher than you could be to a coordinator. But in the end she chose to stay with you instead of coming with me._

_While she didn't say it, I assumed that there was more to the decision than who was the better teacher. Because she has apparently made her choice of who she prefers I will back down for now. Although if by the next time we meet she hasn't chosen anything else as to how she views you, I'll renew my efforts. As you should probably also know May is one of a kind and doesn't deserve any less, so you better make your move before I make mine. Otherwise I'm not promising anything._

_-Drew_

_PS. Don't take this as a hand of friendship. I am merely giving respect where respect is due and acknowledging your current victory._

"Well I guess that was friendly in his own way," Ash commented as he finished up reading the letter. "I still don't know how May can see him as a friend. But how come I never heard of this offer of his to travel together with May?"

"Chu," the Electric-Type shrugged his small shoulders.

"I can say that I'm not happy she kept something like this from me but from what I am keeping from her I have no right to think that. Besides, Drew wouldn't have wrote this if he was lying about what May chose in the end so there isn't too much to worry about in that sense. Like her problems in Johto, I'll let her tell me when she's ready. It's the other implications that I'm worried about. Because of Dawn's little ploy last night I knew that he was somewhat interested in May, but I didn't think that he was getting ready to confess to her himself." Taking another long look at the note in his hands, Ash could feel the jealousy come right back to him that he felt last night as his stomach started to clench up and his heart giving off a dull pain the more he thought about it. He quickly crumpled the note up in a single motion, not in anger to the writer but simply from determination. Crushing it even further into one hand he put the paper into his pocket. "Well that confirms it. While I know that it's probably either jealousy raising its ugly head or simply me being selfish, I don't want to let go of her like that. I want to be able to put that smile on her face and take away any frown. It sounds like something straight out of one of Brock's bad romance novels but I know that's how I feel.

"Now that I know Drew will try again if I don't say anything it has to be tonight Pikachu. My decision has only been supported. We're both on a high note after taking first and second place and it seems like a better thing to say to her when she is already in a happy mood. I almost have to thank Drew for this too, almost. Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to say to her. Last night I was too tongue-tied to even get the right words out. Sure I learned quite a bit from that question I asked instead but it wasn't what I was wanting to say."

"Pikachu chu Pikapi."

"Yeah I know you don't really understand these things very well, but I just feel better talking about it. And let's face it; I can talk to you about what's on my mind far easier than Dawn. Not to mention she would be taking it the wrong way and probably forcing me to make decisions that I don't want to make right now. On to other things though, you and Eevee have gotten closer as of late. It seems that she's finally completely gotten rid of that hesitation around you that she developed when we met in Pallet. I could almost say that you two have made the confession before May and I have."

"Pikachu chu chu Pika Pikachu."

"You didn't need to confess anything to her huh? All I have to say is that you're lucky for that."

Knowing now that Pikapi had made his final decision to tell May, Pikachu knew that he too could stop holding back. The thoughts of having to put either his or her trainer into an uncomfortable situation were now gone and his own decision was now open. He wanted to stay next to Eevee much like Pikapi wanted to stay near May, although for Pokémon there was something a bit more direct when it came to something like that.

"Pikachu pika pika chu."

"You want her to be your mate?" Not sure if he should be embarrassed or happy for his friend, Ash could only let out a nervous chuckle while lightly petting the yellow mouse. "I don't really know what to say about that Pikachu, but I guess congratulations. Needless to say, even if it does come to mind at times thanks to last night, I don't think that I will be worrying about that specific fact between May and myself for quite some time. We would have a lot more things to go through before that could ever happen. But for you I guess it would be a little different than us humans. Of course for you two to stay together that means May and I would also have to stay together."

"Pikachu Pikapi."

All the while he was talking to his Pokémon, Ash found that he was petting him softly in slow strokes down his back and Pikachu was drifting in and out of sleep. Lying down in the warm sun was making him tired as well. Thinking a short nap wouldn't be bad Ash let the same sensation overtake him without too much worry. He figured that after an hour or so he would wake up with a fresh mind and he could then plan out what he would say to May to start off what he was now determined to do.

He wasn't all that worried either about what may happen while he slept out in the open. He had three powerful Pokémon around him and he felt as safe as safe could be.

* * *

><p>Not much happening in this chapter, I know. Kind of a slight wind down chapter, but we're obviously not over just yet. Next chapter will be up at its normal time so I hope to see you back then. Thanks for reading.<p> 


	28. Chapter 28

Well here is the chapter that everyone has been waiting for. And it only took 28 chapters to get there. But I'll keep this short. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, so here's chapter 28.

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><p>"Ash, wake up Ash."<p>

"Just a few more minutes," the trainer mumbled at the new voice.

"Ash just wake up."

"Do I hafta?"

"Not really, but it wouldn't be a bad idea. Besides I can always get Pikachu to shock you until you're up."

The consistent shaking that the person was doing to Ash along with the playful threat finally did its trick. Opening his eyes along with a large yawn, Ash expected to see the setting sun across the sea of trees, but instead he found that there was no sun at all. Turning to see who had woken him, he found that it was May standing over him with the ever-present Eevee on her shoulder.

"Oh, hey May. What are you doing back already?"

"Already? What you mean is that it's already a little past nine," she told the boy. "I'm surprised that you actually slept that long. Dawn and I had thought that you returned to the hotel long ago, but when we didn't find you in either the cafeteria or the room I figured that you were still out here. And sure enough you were." Moving around to go sit down on the bench, May looked out over the stars. Each a twinkling speck amongst thousands of others. The moon was only half full so while it gave a nice amount of light it still wasn't enough to dim out the rest of the view.

"That would explain why I'm so hungry right now."

Carefully allowing the still sleeping Pikachu down onto the ground, Ash glanced over at where he remembered the two Venusaur were and to his surprise they were there asleep as well.

"_So much for my protection I guess,"_ he thought as he stretched. Picking up Pikachu, the trainer made his way over to the bench near May.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" She spoke up as he sat down.

"The stars?" Following her gaze, he had to agree to some degree that they were beautiful. "Yeah, they kinda are."

But to him they still were only second compared to the girl who graced them with her presence. While it was much later than he intended, Ash couldn't deny that the situation turned out even better than he originally thought for the way he could finally bring up his courage to say it. As he was deep in thought about everything around him, Pikachu stared to wake in his arms. But even if there was a combination of excitement and nervousness, he knew that coming outright and saying it now would be a little weird.

"You've definitely made progress May," he said after a while. "You did pretty well for someone who was worried about even entering the first round, second place out of 143 applicants. While it's not a Grand Festival, there were still plenty of good coordinators that entered and you were able to come out above every one of them."

"Well everyone except you that is."

"I'm not really a coordinator, so I wasn't including myself in that. Besides, I only got through that round with yours and Venusaur's help, along with a little bit of luck. While I was hoping that it might happen I wasn't counting of the fact."

"Now who's the one who's looking down on their skills?" May asked with a bit of a smile. "While you may not be a real coordinator your skills as a trainer and the bonds with your Pokémon are second to none. But either way, I have to say thank you Ash. If it wasn't for you pushing for me to come here I probably would still be back in Pallet worrying about either whether I would tell you of the results of Johto or how I would be able to step back into the ring after that embarrassing string of losses."

"No problem May, I only wanted to help. Ever since I learned that you didn't place well I figured that you would probably need a boost of confidence, so it was fortunate that I found that poster telling us about this."

"And it was because of you that I was able to get that boost." Smiling as the black-haired trainer seemed to blush a little at her comment, May was just happy to be able to still have moments like this with him. "I can't say exactly what, but there is something about you Ash that can always bring me back into a good mood, and it's exactly that which has brought me out of something like this on more than one occasion. Still, it's hard to believe that we're once again in the finals together. Even if we did it for completely different reasons, it's just like last year when we got our Terracotta Ribbon. We're now in the finals of an unofficial contest, but this time there's a lot more people watching. It's kinda funny how things turn out like that, isn't it?"

"Yeah you could say that. But I brought you here to get your confidence back; I never cared too much about winning it. "

"Oh? Does that mean you'll forfeit the match tomorrow so that I can win the extra bit of money?" May asked him, her smile growing as she brought the conversation away from the serious side.

"Nope, I'm still the Lilly of the Valley Conference Champion," Ash told her, feigning a bit of superiority on the word 'champion'. "While it may not be much, I have a reputation to build up and I'm not going to forfeit any match. I may be your friend but I must say that is too much to ask. Besides you would probably waste that extra money on clothes anyways."

"So the champion tries to act all high and mighty now. And what, may I ask, would you spend the prize money instead of the wonders of a new wardrobe?"

By this point Ash was about ready to laugh along with May. They both knew that none of this had any real meaning behind it and not to take it seriously.

"Isn't it obvious? I would buy a robot that would put any of Team Rocket's to shame so that the next time they try to steal Pikachu I can battle them with that instead, because it seems that a champion's Pokémon are too much for them."

"Yeah, maybe then they'll actually learn they can't skimp on everything but protecting themselves from Pikachu's electricity and still be able to come out with a victory."

Unable to hold back their laughter anymore the two teens burst out until their sides hurt. Even Pikachu and Eevee were grinning at some of the comments that were being made.

Finally stopping, Ash and May just sat there looking up towards the stars. Even if they were going to be rivals come tomorrow, neither was worried, because neither of them cared too much about winning. Both of them had essentially come for one reason, and seeing as how they already got what they were hoping for taking first place wasn't all that important, especially if they lost it, it would be their best friend who would win.

Sitting next to each other enjoying the night air, Ash was starting to feel a little anxious as time went on. Stealing a glance every now and then, the boy knew that he had to at least say something to start his confession. They were able to have a natural conversation and he knew that May was still in a good mood, but at this rate it would end up even worse than the night before. Ash only had to make sure that he didn't come up with a lame excuse to change the subject again. Once he started he had to go through with it. Part of the problem in his mind though was that he was originally planning on only napping for an hour or so to clear his mind, and then he would start to think about how to say it all to May. Most importantly was how he would start it. Now that the moment was upon him, he had no clue as to what to say. 'I love you' seemed too direct and didn't say enough to explain how he truly felt.

"_Should I say something kinda clever to start it off?"_ Ash thought as they sat there. Of course with his nervousness rising as it was, nothing could even come to mind. _"Okay so it doesn't have to be clever, it just has to be words. Say some words."_ Again, his mind failed him. But the problem was that the longer the silence between them lasted the more nervous he grew. _"Any words will do, we just need to start it off."_

While Ash was having a mental debate with himself over what he was considering an uncomfortable and lengthy silence, May was thinking nothing of it. She had Eevee in her lap, her best friend right next to her, and the vast expanse of the night's sky above her. She felt perfectly fine even without the talking.

"Hey May?" He finally said. "I have something that I want to tell you."

Looking over at him, the look on May's face was one of curiosity but soon after changed to a simple smile.

"You do? That's funny, because I wanted to ask you something as well."

Ash could feel his heart skip a beat as she said that. The obvious question of if she was going ask the same thing he was going to say ran through his mind instantly.

"Oh, well in that case you can go first."

He didn't entirely intend for it to come out like that, but part of him was still sacred of what might happen if she didn't return his feelings and if she asked it instead of him it would be infinitely easier.

"No that's okay you go first, you were the one to bring it up."

"_Great."_

Taking a deep breath, Ash decided that the best way to get the ice broken was to simply say what came to mind first. Once he was able to get past that single point he hoped it would become easier.

"Um May?"

"Yes?"

Looking right into her expectant eyes, Ash was once again having a hard time saying those three words even if that feeling was welling up in him as he continued looking at her. He wanted to say something else to build the conversation up to the point he wanted, but nervousness was continuing to overtake him and his brain went blank yet again. His hands were starting to get clammy and he was fidgeting more than his usual. The ongoing silence was only proving to make everything worse in his opinion so to break it the trainer finally put his thoughts into words, though the words came out faster than he would have liked.

"May, I think I've fallen in love with you."

Yet as soon as they escaped from his mouth he was already regretting them.

"_Ah crap, that's what I was trying to avoid. Those were words at least, but not the ones I was hoping for,"_ Ash silently berated himself._ "Was it too sudden? I knew should have led up to it. Should I have played it in a different tone? Maybe a different expression on my face?"_

"Oh that's great Ash, now I…" It took May a second or two before her mind actually understood what he had just said to her. When they did though, she couldn't believe what she just heard. "Wait, could you say that again Ash?"

Knowing that there was nothing he could do to redo that last sentence, and he would give virtually anything at that point to do just that, all the trainer could do was say what he felt. Taking a deep breath he was able to calm himself down. The initial fear of just saying those words was at least over so his thoughts were starting to come back and even if he couldn't take back the last thing he said, he could at least explain himself afterwards.

"May, I think I've fallen in love with you," he repeated, this time slower and calmer.

"Those words aren't something you can say lightly Ash," May told him. "I'm flattered that you can say that but it's not something that you can say to a girl without it taking the real meaning. I mean we are best friends and all but there is more to that word than just that."

Attempting to give off a light laugh in the process, her mind was trying to go right to the fact that he was just trying to make a joke. Even if she was trying to make it into a joke, there was still a part of her that was thinking he might actually be telling the truth and it wanted to go into overdrive as to the thought that the boy actually loved her. The only problem was that the idea of Ash saying that to someone, let alone her of all people, was so farfetched her original thought was the only thing she could come up with which made sense. After so long of teasing him about not knowing anything about the topic of love and romance, he was suddenly declaring it to her before she even she found the person she loved. May honestly had no intention of hurting her friend with that comment, but the fact that she didn't believe him hit Ash hard. While he couldn't blame her after hearing about some of the obvious things he missed over the years, it still upset him to realize that she thought that.

"I know," he said as confidently as he could manage. "But this isn't a joke. I really think I've fallen in love with you."

Every moment after he had said that line, Ash was watching her face. At first there was no real change, but as those words sunk in her smile slowly faded away until she looked as though she was in shock more than anything. Turning away from him and straight out toward the trees, Ash could no longer see her face as it was hidden by her hair. So in the end they sat there, no real excitement was coming from either teen at that point as the awkward silence returned.

The only ones there at the time that seemed truly happy about Ash revealing his feelings were Pikachu and Eevee, but the latter was more trying to figure out her trainer's reaction to it.

"And when did this happen?" She finally asked, breaking the silence. While her voice was surprisingly calm, the brunette still couldn't look at Ash. Now that the truth was out she was confused. Mostly with everything behind what and why he said what he said, but also a growing confusion within herself about what this means to her.

"What part? When did I realize it or when did I originally fall for you?"

"All of it…I guess."

"Well," gulping a little as he knew that this was where he had to make up for his pathetic excuse for a confession, Ash could only let the words out as they came to his head. "To be honest I only really started thinking about whether what I feel for you might be more than friendship only about a week ago. Dawn was teasing me, as she usually did, about how I always use our ribbon for support when I need it the most. Even if it was a common occurrence, that time she said more than that and claimed that if I all I did was look at the ribbon I'll never move forward."

Taking the ribbon out of his pocket, Ash looked at it through the dim moonlight. The fact that he did this didn't escape May's notice, but she said nothing.

"I got annoyed as I always did, but nothing more really came from it at that time. It was the next night that she finally asked me outright if I love you. Of course I denied it immediately. I've had many people claim at different points that I love you, the first of which was Max when we were traveling, even if it probably was more to tease you at the time, and with Oscar and Andi being one of the more prominent ones I remember. I can still remember that argument we got into because of that one, although at the time I still didn't think much of it. You were my friend, that's all I knew and I guess part of me didn't want to think if you were more than that."

Cracking a smile as he thought back to the little fight they had at that time, he knew he had to continue.

"Back to Dawn though, she didn't believe me when I said that I wasn't in love with you so she gave me two questions to answer for myself. Like every other time people have claimed my feelings for you were more than friendship I tried to brush it off, but she looked so serious about it and I couldn't get those questions out of my head. In the end they've stayed on my mind ever since I got back to Kanto. Eventually I found enough of an answer to each of them and it was only a few days ago that I decided that what I felt about you was more than only friendship. Even if I didn't understand it myself, I took a guess that it was probably love. And ever since then it only became clearer."

"If you don't mind Ash," May spoke up in a soft voice. "Would you mind telling me those questions?"

"Sure May." Ash was trying to stay as calm as possible while he said all this. Without being able to see her face he couldn't be sure how she was taking it all, but he could at least tell that she wasn't overjoyed at hearing those words. "The first was why was the reason I always carried my half of the Terracotta Ribbon in my pocket, and the second was what made you different from all the other girls I've met over the years."

Although it was only slight, Ash noticed her fidget somewhat. Smiling he thought he understood what she wanted to ask.

"Dawn said that those were questions for myself and that I didn't need to say anything to her if when I came up with an answer, but I think I can share them now. I'll admit, the Terracotta Ribbon isn't the only keepsake that I have from old friends that I've traveled with, and yet it is the only one I don't keep usually in my backpack." As he said that Ash realized that he was lucky he unpacked his backpack and only put in the essentials before leaving Pallet to come to Auburn. Misty would have tore him a new one for losing her lure. "It's almost always in one of my pockets because I like to use it as something to reinforce my determination or to help me when I feel a little down. It also helped me remember you, your smile, and your fun attitude that seemed so similar to mine at times. So I turned it into one of my good luck charms because it brought a sense of comfort and relaxation. When I finally realized how I felt about you, I connected a few more dots and came to the conclusion that what I was really holding as my good luck charm wasn't simply the memories of being with you. In essence I associated the ribbon as a representation of you. In other words, I kinda thought that in one way you were my true good luck charm."

Trying to chuckle a little at his last comment, the fact that May didn't react to it made him stop immediately. Clearing his throat, he moved on.

"As for the second question, that one took a little longer to answer. I loved being around all my friends and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but for some reason I liked being around you best. You were easier to talk to then Misty about anything and everything and you have a more controlled attitude and a less mischievous side then Dawn does. I enjoyed the time we spent while we were training together for your contests in Hoenn. I guess the fact that you actually relied on me for something like that was invigorating. Misty never really needed my advice, seeing as how she was more experienced then I was at the time, and Dawn already had a clear idea as to what she was going to do and how to do it. You on the other hand had only basic knowledge of anything Pokémon related, and you listened intently on everything that I tried to teach you. Sure, it was more than once that you had your problems, but that only led to us trying to solve them together. So in the end the all the time we spent with just the two of us probably grew on me.

"But as time went on there was one thing that I enjoyed seeing from you the most, your smile. It's kind of embarrassing to say so, but it's true. There was just something about it that made me feel better instantly, and when you were upset I wanted to make you smile again because it suited you far more than anything else. I can still remember one of the first, if not maybe the first, time I saw that smile. The day we met in Littleroot Town and Pikachu had gotten sick, I passed out on the bed where he was recovering."

Looking down at the Pokémon in question, Ash rubbed him behind the ears in a small circular motion and received a soft coo in return.

"I was just waking up," he continued. "And I could see you watching us through the crack in the door with that smile that I would from then on see every day for nearly two years. At the time I didn't think much of it, except that she does look kind of cute, but now I think it was probably that simple look that sent me down the road to where I am now."

In all of his explanations, Ash had found that he had calmed done considerably. Sure he was still worried that May hadn't really said much ever since he said those fateful words, but she didn't seem to be taking it negatively. The problem though was that she also wasn't showing any positive reactions either. Even Eevee looked as though she couldn't understand how her trainer was feeling.

"Seeing as how I'm being completely honest with you right now, I feel I should say one more thing that I've been keeping a secret from you. Even if it may not be the best time to be saying it," Ash once again continued. "You told me about how you had that odd feeling about how I wouldn't come back alive while at the Sea Temple, the truth is that I nearly didn't. Right before I fixed the Sea Crown, I accidentally dropped the crystal which made me stay underwater longer than I expected. I nearly ran out of oxygen and actually blacked out while still underwater."

Seeing her tense up and suddenly clutch her chest with her arms followed by a sudden shiver running across her body as the image probably ran through her head, Ash knew that this one wouldn't be easy for her to take. But as he said, if he wanted her to trust him and his true feelings, he needed to be completely honest with her. And with how worried she seemed to be about that incident it was one secret he didn't want to keep from her any longer.

"But as you know, I didn't die. While I was unconscious I heard your voice along with Pikachu's. I heard you tell me not to give up and to stay strong. It was your voice that saved me May. I was able to regain consciousness, get some fresh air, and save the temple. I don't know how it happened, but all I need to take out of that is you saved me May. And that is one thing I can never pay back, but I can at least try. While that debt I feel is completely separate from my feelings, the important thing is because of both of those reasons I want to see you happy, and if you allow me I want to be the one to give you that happiness. But in the end, that smile is all I want to see coming off of your face. Even if you don't feel the same way I'll always be there to support you from the sidelines for anything you choose, although it just might have to be from a distance."

"You said you figured out how you felt for me a few days ago, right?" She asked after another couple seconds while relaxing her arms.

"Yeah."

"Even while you're saying all of this, you're making it sound as if you're going to be leaving." Ash could hear the slight amount of hurt in her voice, and the guilt of the situation hit him once again. "I understand now that you really have thought about this and you mean exactly what you said, but why did you wait until now to tell me? Even if I knew that you were keeping something from me these last few days, I would never have thought that it would be something like this. Nor would I have thought that you would play with me like that. Were you planning on telling me this and leaving again after the final round? Or did you think that I wasn't good enough to love now that you're a conference champion so you wanted to get this off your chest so that you could move on?"

"What? No, no! How could you ever even consider that? If anything you're too good for someone like me and I would be the luckiest man alive if you felt the same way. I didn't tell you at first because I was afraid of your response, and if you don't want me to leave I won't. After I originally figured out how I actually felt, I had decided not to tell you. I knew that what I wanted most was your happiness and had convinced myself that as long as we could continue as we were now it would be fine. We could continue on as best friends, you wouldn't even have the thought that you could lose me as your support or have to worry about how I feel, and I could continue to see that wonderful smile of yours for as long as we traveled together. But from what you told me over the past few days, I understand now that you rely on me more than even I thought as your motivation in coordinating. I also knew that once I said this, it would change things between us for good and I didn't want to lose that. Partly because I knew this would put unnecessary worries on you and your dream of becoming a top coordinator and all I've ever wanted, and still want, for you was to see you succeed at that dream. For the last couple days though, I had to face the truth that if I didn't say anything it would be nearly impossible for it to happen like I was wishing. I understand that it's selfish of me to put this on you because of something I want, but the simple fact is that I don't want to lose being with you. It's so much fun just being next to you and I feel comfortable knowing that you aren't far away."

After he finally finished, the tense silence that followed only made Ash worry that he either made the wrong choice or maybe he said a bit too much. He even surprised himself with everything that he said, and it sounded nothing like the confessions that Brock told him about in his novels. All of those were a few simple lines; usually accompanied by a witty phrase along with those three words, and then the other person would burst into tears and throw themselves into the confessor's arms saying that they felt the same way. But as much as part him probably wished it, this wasn't just some story, it was reality. He wasn't just some reader imagining the fictional couple coming to life in those pages. He was sitting there next to May, and he just told her the one word that more than any other could forever change how they look at each other. He took the risk and made the step forward, and he could only wait for her response.

When she stood up, the boy could feel his heart skip a beat or two, and the next two words that came out of her mouth nearly made it stop.

"I'm sorry Ash."

* * *

><p>Not many of you are going to like me for this little cliffhanger but I think it's a fun spot at least. Next chapter will be up as normal, thanks for reading.<p> 


	29. Chapter 29

Well I knew that cliffhanger would get a few people a little more interested. I could probably find a few things to say but I know what you want. Thanks to those that reviewed the last chapter, and now here's 29.

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><p>"I'm sorry Ash," she told him. "I…I don't know what else to say right now. This is so much to take in and I don't know how to respond to everything that you've said. You've said things that I never even knew you worried about and I'm more then flattered to hear you say that about me. I don't want you to take this the wrong way right now but…I just need some time alone to think."<p>

Taking a somewhat surprised Eevee along with her, Ash could only watch as May ran off to the hotel. The whole time he never once saw her face.

"May, wait!" Seeing that she didn't stop, Ash collapsed back into the bench. The two Venusaur and Pikachu had no idea as to what to say to him at that point. They had all witnessed him pour his heart out for the first time like that to anyone.

"Well, that's that then I guess," he said in a defeated tone. "I shot for the home run but struck out instead. I still can't believe that I actually said all that and I wonder if in the end she even thought I was telling the truth. I didn't even know what I was saying half of the time, it just kept coming and while I wasn't really thinking as I said it, I knew that it was all true. The only part that I knew exactly what I wanted to say was the last part about the Sea Crown."

Still holding his half of the Terracotta Ribbon in his hand, Ash once again looked back onto its reflective surface, desperately wanting its reassuring presence. But for the first time since he received it, nothing came. He may have now known exactly what and who it represented but he still couldn't feel the same calming comfort that he usually felt.

"I kept that a secret from everyone for so long because I knew what their reactions would be, and May was no exception. In fact I made sure not to tell her above all others because I knew she would have taken it extra hard, and that was before I saw how she might have reacted after I fixed it. I still may not know if it was true or not, but there was something inside of me that screamed I should now definitely not say anything. It was the fact she didn't believe me when I first said those words that I decided I needed to finally tell her. If I wanted her to trust me and what I said I couldn't be keeping something like that from her, and her reaction was about as I thought. Being honest with myself, I'm still not even sure if I should have said that to her, both my feelings and the incident around the Sea Crown. Right now I'm just feeling that my own jealousy and personal wants cost me one of, if not the, best friend I have had or ever will have."

With a big sigh the trainer put his ribbon back into his pocket. It wasn't giving him that same reassuring feeling that he always got so there was no point in keeping it out, in fact the more he looked at it his sense of guilt over the situation was only growing inside of him.

"If only this really was like one of Brock's novels, maybe it could have gone better. I would have known exactly what to say and how to say it, unlike that pathetic rant that probably sounded like I was just desperate more than anything. Not to mention her reaction would have actually been encouraging. It might not have been what I would have envisioned for her, but I wouldn't have complained if she acted just like in the books and jumped into my arms crying she felt the same way." Trying to put forth a light chuckle to calm himself, it wasn't working. "I was right with my first decision. In the end I should have just kept my big mouth shut and not said anything in the first place."

The only slightly reassuring thing he felt out of the entire situation was that she at least showed some emotion during two parts of his little speech. The first being the mentioning of the Sea Temple, which he expected, and the other was her string of questions at the end. While neither was a positive reaction, it wasn't completely negative toward his confession in particular.

"_Did it really sound as though I would be leaving her? I was hoping more for it sounding as even if she didn't feel the same way I would still be there to support her so she didn't have to force herself into a situation she didn't want."_

Pikachu opened his mouth to try and reassure his trainer and best friend, but he had no clue as what to say. The Electric-Type desperately wanted to be able to put the boy's mood back to his normal self and not how he was. Just like Ash always wanted to keep May smiling, the loyal Pokémon didn't like seeing Pikapi like that and was always willing to help in any way he could. But the problem was that Pikachu never entirely understood some human emotions in the first place, and this was way beyond that. He did at least understand how important May was to his trainer and knew that there was little he could really do to truly bring him back to normal. It was something only the two of them could bring to a close. So he did the next best thing he could do. Climbing up to Ash's shoulder, the small Pokémon gently pushed up against his face before cuddling into his neck.

"Pikachu Pikapi."

"Yeah I know Pikachu, and thanks. I just can't help but feel guilty now that I had to put all of that onto her, but I've dug my grave and now I have to lay in it. I can only hope that she doesn't hate me after all of this, although I can understand if she will need some space for a while. For how long though is what I'm scared about." Calming down again, his thoughts wandered to the beginning of, what he was almost starting to consider, the end. "I can only wonder though, what did she want to ask me?"

Putting that thought aside, he finally got up and took one last look at the stars. Reaching out to the sky he felt that May at that moment was about as far away from him as those balls of light. Closing his hand as if trying to grab for them he gave off a deep sigh.

"_I wonder if the stars looked anything close to the balls of light the legend talks about,"_ he thought to himself. _"If I could only get one, that wish could be mine. But even if I did get it, what exactly would I wish for? For May to love me back? No, as tempting as it might be that would be the last thing I'd wish for. As much as I want to obtain my own happiness, I don't want to force her into something she wouldn't want. In the end I think I would just wish for her happiness above all else. If it's with or without me, that's the one thing I want for her above all else. But who am I kidding? While some legends come from real things in the past, something like this can only be a fantasy. Even if they were as rare as the legend says, it would make things too easy."_

Knowing that there was nothing more he could do now that it was all said and done, he turned to the two Grass-Types.

"Let's head back guys," he said to the three Pokémon. "I've suddenly lost my appetite and just want to go to bed."

* * *

><p>Walking into the hotel, Ash and Pikachu made their way up to their room. When they got off the elevators, the trainer found Dawn apparently waiting for him outside of the door with Piplup on her shoulder and Shinx in her arms. For some reason he wasn't all that surprised to see her there.<p>

"Okay Ash I need to ask something," she demanded as he came into view. "Do you know what's wrong with May? When she got back she went right to bed without saying anything."

"Yeah, I know."

"Well? What is it?"

"I told her," he simply stated.

"Told her? Told her what?" Even as she said it, it didn't take long for the blunette to notice the mood he was in and put two and two together and her demeanor fell just as fast. "Oh. From the way you two are acting I assume that it didn't go as well as you hoped. Did she reject you?"

"I'm not sure. She told me that she was sorry but afterwards said she needed time to think. So she never said that she felt the same way."

"But the good news is that is sounds as if she didn't say no, Ash," Dawn tried to cheer him up. "Even if there wasn't an outright yes, the fact that she didn't say no backs up her claim that she is thinking about how to respond. Whether that means she doesn't know how to tell you no or whether she is like you and doesn't understand how she truly feels, I sadly can't say. Although if it's any help, I will be hoping for the best."

Stepping into the room, Ash found the other coordinator. Curled up on the far side of the king sized bed, the fact that he didn't see Eevee suggested that she was probably curled up with the brunette. As he got closer he confirmed it as he could see her long ears sticking up from May's arms.

"Dawn, I'm using your sleeping bag tonight," he quietly said to the blunette, as not to disturb May, while walking into the bathroom. "And I'm not in the mood for arguing."

"That's fine Ash; I'll take the bed tonight. Just try and promise me that you'll get some sleep."

When he got out of the bathroom after preparing for bed, Ash found that Dawn was true to her word and was sleeping in what was his spot on the bed. Going down to the floor and getting in the baby blue sleeping bag, the trainer noticed that Pikachu was consistently looking up towards the bed.

"As much as I don't want to get in the way of you and Eevee, I don't want you up there tonight Pikachu," he told the Electric-Type. "She's with May right now anyways, and seeing you will probably only remind her of me. I've already put her through enough tonight; I don't want to make it worse."

Although he didn't think that it was as bad as Pikapi was thinking, Pikachu could understand why he was saying that and respected his wishes. Curling up on the soft fabric of the sleeping bag with his trainer, he gave a big yawn and proceeded to try and fall asleep.

For Ash it was a rough night, the thoughts of what happened kept running around in his mind and it was hard for him to join his companion in his deep slumber.

* * *

><p>The next morning when Ash finally got up, he still felt very tired. With everything going on in his head it took a long time for him to finally fall asleep. And even then it wasn't all that restful. Taking a quick look at the clock he saw that it was a little after 10:30 and he guessed that he probably only got about four or five hours of sleep in the end.<p>

As he got out of the sleeping bag, Pikachu was starting to wake up as well. Immediately noticing that May and Eevee were no longer in bed, though Dawn, Shinx, and Piplup were, he got changed into the other set of his new style of clothes May bought for him. As he took the clothes out he noticed that there were a few less daisies then he remembered in the vase next to the TV. Without thinking much into it he took a quick glance around the room as he closed the drawer. To his surprise he noticed a few white petals scattered on the floor next to one of the lounge chairs. Taking a closer look he found three stems of the flowers sitting on the table with their petals strewn around the spot. Seeing as how Dawn was still asleep there was only one person who could have done it, but the reasons as to why were the real question.

Sighing a bit, Ash tried to put that in the back of his mind. There was something that he wanted to get done before his afternoon match, and he didn't have too much time to do it anymore. Putting his sleeping clothes away and putting on the ones he grabbed, even the thought that he was putting on Tochic boxers, something that he originally considered taboo, wasn't enough to make him smile or chuckle in the slightest. All it did in the end was remind him of May and her reaction to his words last night.

Heading down to the cafeteria with his starter to grab something easy to eat, Ash was going there more as a force of habit than anything else. Even if the trainer hadn't eaten anything since around noon yesterday, he was surprised that he still wasn't all that hungry. The only reasons that he was heading to grab food in the first place was that he knew Pikachu would be hungry and even if he wasn't hungry his Pokémon needed to at least eat something.

Purchasing a couple muffins and a small bottle of juice, he handed the Pecha Berry one to Pikachu, who happily accepted it, and went over to the video phones. While he was still worried about the repercussions of what he said last night, he wasn't feeling as down about it as he initially was. He just wasn't feeling all that enthused about everything. Dawn's words had sunk in a little and he knew that he still had a chance until she finally made her decision, but he didn't want to ruin it. So he had decided last night to take up an old friend on an offer.

It took a few seconds to remember the number, but he eventually typed in the numbers and waited for someone to answer. When the screen did light up, it was a boy of only about eleven or twelve who with his dark brown spiky hair and squinty eyes made him look much like his older brother.

"Pewter City Gym, can I help you?"

"Hey Forrest," Ash greeted the boy. "Is Brock around?"

"Oh hi Ash, I didn't recognize you at first in those clothes. Sure, just let me get him."

After another few seconds, one of Ash's oldest friends appeared on the monitor.

"Hey Ash, hey Pikachu, it's only been a few days since I left, are you already in trouble?" He joked with a light chuckle. "Nice shirt too. I thought you would have kept to your sweatshirt and hat."

"Thanks, long story short I kinda lost my other clothes and May bought this for me. And yes, you could say that am already in trouble. You remember what you said to me right before you left Pallet right? Well, I'm taking you up on that offer."

"Really?" Noticing the expression on the trainer's face, Brock knew that there had to be a good reason that Ash was calling him about that. "Okay, well how about you start from the beginning and I'll do what I can."

So that's what Ash did, he said almost everything to Brock when it came to his feelings for May as well as Dawn's master plan, leaving out some of the physical contact that he had with the brunette the night they got stuck in the woods together. He even said everything up through last night's confession and even his little conversation with Dawn right after.

"Wow Ash," Brock finally said after listening intently throughout the story. "I knew that you were probably in love with May, but to be completely honest I never expected this to come from you. And that confession, a bit atypical but there's little doubt you got your point across. Your world really did change when you find somebody you love, didn't it?"

"Yeah I get that much at least. Now think you can help?"

"I should be able to come up something at least. The good news is that I have to agree with Dawn, in both her idea to get you guys together and in what she said about May's reaction to your confession. As I think I've told you before, you and May have a great synergy between the two of you and I doubt she would do anything to actually hurt you, even if she didn't feel the same way. Because of this, I would say the same thing Dawn did in that May is just confused about her thoughts. If I'm surprised by your directness at how you presented it to May last night, just think of what she thought." Pausing a moment to let it sink in a little, he continued. "I think you can now see why she was nervous after you said everything. While I also can't say what is actually going through her mind, I'd be willing to bet that she will decide on what to say to you by the end of the day. Of course that doesn't mean you won't be able to help with that decision by what you do before that."

"To be honest, I think that I wanted that second opinion on what May said to me most of all," Ash told his older friend. "When she said 'I'm sorry' I couldn't think straight. It felt as though my heart stopped as I heard those words. And the fact that she hasn't said a thing to me since didn't help either. In fact it's almost as if she's avoiding me."

"If you are rejected you will just have to move on and find the next girl like I always do." Finding a hard glare that promised a painful death coming at him from Ash, Brock quickly held his hands up in defense. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Although there is some truth to it I know you don't want to hear it. Okay, so besides the conformation that May didn't outright reject you with those words, what you wanted help with was how to handle today and try to give the last push of your confession, correct?"

"More-or-less."

Thinking for a bit, Brock started to formulate something that would get her attention but also be able to get a good deal of Ash's point across. As a small idea started to build it suddenly exploded into something that he could only grin to. Turning off to the side to start typing on a nearby computer he put his thoughts into words, all the while he left Ash completely in the dark as to his idea.

"There," he finally said after several minutes while looking back at the phone monitor. "I'm sending you somewhat of a script that should work, along with a few lines that might be fun to try. You'll be meeting up with May before the final round, right?"

"Yeah we have to be at the trainer's prep room thirty minutes before the actual battle, so even if she is trying to avoid me we'll see each other then."

"Perfect. Now when you say this you need to make sure that you act the part, it won't be nearly as convincing if you don't. And seeing as how out of her friends you're the only one who knows May better than I do, I think her reactions should be pretty close to what I predicted."

As he explained that, Ash was starting to second guess asking Brock of all people for help. It didn't take long for the file the ex-gym leader sent to make it to the nearby printer. Taking the paper from the machine, the trainer started to pale as he skimmed over the 'script'.

"You can't be serious Brock."

"Trust me Ash, it'll work. You just have to remember to act it out. My only payment for this is to call me with the results later. See ya then!"

"Wait, Brock!"

But it was too late; with a quick wave the older boy had already disconnected the call.

Looking back at the page, Ash could only wonder if this could even work.

"I should have known better then to ask Brock, because this could only have come from him. What do you think Pikachu?"

Holding the paper up for his Pokémon to see, Pikachu also tried to read over what Brock had wrote. He could barely understand what it said but it didn't seem like something that Pikapi would say.

"Pi," he told his partner while shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah I figured."

Heading back up to the room, Ash found Dawn finishing up with getting out of the shower and ready for the day.

"Hey Ash, where have you been?"

"Getting advice from Brock on how I should handle everything with May." Sitting down on the bed, he couldn't help but continue to stare at the paper.

"You were actually going to him for love advice? I thought I told you that it was best not to allow him to distort your ideas. Besides, asking him seems almost counter-productive." Taking notice that he was concentrating intently on what he had in front of him, she felt curiosity get the better of her. "And what's that in your hand?"

"To put it simply, it's the advice he gave me. It's almost like a script that I'm supposed to say to May before the battle today."

"Mind if I take a look?"

"Knock yourself out."

Handing her the paper, Dawn began to read over it as well. After only a few lines she was already starting to chuckle, and by the time she was finished with it she couldn't hold back her laughter anymore.

"Are you actually going to use this?" She got out between laughs.

"I've thought it over, and as crazy as the entire thing sounds it does mention many of the things that I wanted to say."

"What, seeing May in a dress?"

Dodging the pillow that was instantly aimed at her head, Dawn was only then starting to calm her laughter.

"Don't worry; I think I know what you mean. And even if I was hesitant at first, I have to say that while the presentation is rather out there, it makes sense. Although you do understand that there is a large amount of risk involved if you decide to do this. She could say anything in return and it could be on either side of the spectrum."

"I'll do virtually anything at this point," Ash admitted.

"As I promised, I have no intention of making you change your mind. I'm only here to help guide you, and I think this might actually work. So I wish you the best of luck with it." Handing the paper back to him, Dawn couldn't help but tease him once more before finishing up her mourning routine. "So, regarding your reaction before, does that mean you don't want to see May in a dress then?"

Unlike the first time, the second pillow that Ash threw at her hit its mark as she retreated into the bathroom laughing.

* * *

><p>Nowhere near the one of last chapter, but another little cliffhanger for you guys to think about. After over 20 chapters Brock comes back for one more role and gives Ash some advice of his own. But this is December 31st here so have a Happy New Years everyone, and for those that go out tonight stay safe. Otherwise you won't know how this ends, lol. Thanks for reading, see you next year for the next chapter.<p> 


	30. Chapter 30

Guess the last chapter wasn't all that interesting for most of you. Oh well this one should be better. Sorry about the later than normal update time, been busy this morning and found out that I can't access the edit feature of the Doc Manager from my phone.

Brock's little idea will be revealed as well as our final match between Ash and May. So thank you to the ones that reviewed the last chapter, and here's chapter 30.

* * *

><p>Between the phone call and sleeping in late, Ash wasn't able to get in that last bit of practice that he wanted. At least he was happy that he brought one of his most powerful and experienced battlers with for the final round so even without the extra training they should be fine. He was still there a little earlier then what was required, but the trainer was glad that he made it there before May.<p>

The extra time that he had he spent trying to memorize the script that Brock gave him. He still didn't completely trust it but it did say many things that he wanted to get off his chest, and the humor of it all had a small place as well. At least with Pikachu there and his ribbon still in his pocket, Ash was still able to feel a sense of confidence come about it. Although talking to Dawn and Brock brought back the feelings from his ribbon a little bit, it still wasn't to the point that it used to be. But it was at least returning, and hopefully no matter how today went it would continue to get better. He could only wish that it was as great as it was when he first told May his feelings.

Hearing the door finally open at nearly 11:30 on the dot, Ash hastily shoved the paper into his pocket. Looking up to see who it was, Ash's breath was taken away at what he saw. As he expected it was May, and although he thought she might have put on something different for the final round, she was still in her usual outfit. But what he didn't expect was that the brunette was wearing her hair in the style that she had done after their night in the woods, and unlike that time she had apparently taken the extra effort to make this one look a bit more styled and even better than before. Instead of confined into primarily the two bangs at the side of her head it was once again naturally surrounding not only the sides but the back of her head as well. With the slight curl at the end and natural bounce her hair had to support her normal style, it worked very well with this style as well. What surprised him the most was that near her left temple was the Butterfree hair clip he gave her, holding her bangs off to the side of her face. While he still loved her iconic style, seeing her like this brought images of an older May who bore a more mature type of beauty. Of course on her shoulder was Eevee, who, while trying not to look it, was excited at seeing the two boys again.

Moving over to the far side of the bench, May sat down silently without even looking at Ash. Eevee wanted so desperately to run up to the two of them but her trainer's mood still wasn't in the best of spirits and she didn't want to leave her by herself.

Taking one more deep breath, Ash knew that he at least had a nearly perfect ice breaker to start the conversation off without it sounding forced or having an ulterior-motive. Then would come the script and possibly her true answer.

Getting up from his spot, Ash calmly walked over to May and pulled one of the Pokéballs off of his belt.

"Here, you left in such a hurry last night you forgot to take Venusaur with you," he told him in as normal a voice as ever, just as though nothing at all had happened last night.

Holding the red and white sphere to the brunette he finally got a good look at her face. She looked as though she had been crying a lot, although there were no tears at the moment. Or it might have been from lack of sleep, he couldn't be sure. But what unsettled him the most was the smile that she gave as she accepted the Pokéball. If it was someone other than May he probably would have missed it without question, but because it was her he could tell that it was forced and not natural.

"Thanks Ash," she said to him while resituating her free bang. "I guess I got a little flustered last night and couldn't really think straight."

Unable to get the image of that fake smile out of his head, Ash knew that it was time to start the script. Sitting down next to her, he now had to try at least once more to get her back to normal. Even if it didn't work in the end for his feelings, he didn't want May to be burdened by anything after all of this.

"May, I want to say I'm sorry for last night. I don't mean to take back what I said, because it's all true, but what I want to apologize for is dumping it on you so suddenly like that. I was just so scared that I might not be able to stay with you as time went on and I felt as though I needed to say something."

"No, I should be sorry Ash," May countered. "You did all of that and all I could do was walk away without saying anything. Especially that last comment about your position as champion, I know you're not that type of person. But it just kinda came out like that."

"It's not your fault May so there's nothing that you need to apologize for. But if you don't mind, I have two requests to make before our match. First is that, at least for this battle, you completely forget about everything that I said last night. I don't want to ruin your chances at winning just because of what I said."

"I doubt I could even if I wanted to."

It was said in barely above a whisper, and while Ash couldn't make it out, the two Pokémon with them heard it loud and clear.

"What was that May?"

"Nothing," she lied. "Okay, so what is the second request?"

"I think we should make this round a little more fun for the two of us. How about we enter into a bet, not necessarily for money but just to make it more interesting?"

"A bet?" May's mood seemed to change for the better at her sudden curiosity in the idea. "What did you have in mind?"

"Uh-uh, you agree to it first and then we'll each set our terms," Ash told her with a playful smile on his face. "We both agree to whatever the other says and neither can back down from the winner's terms unless it's completely unreasonable. The winner of the round is the winner of the bet. If it ends up as a tie then nobody wins or loses and the bet is off. So what do you say?"

The thought of agreeing to an open ended bet like that made May hesitate slightly. If it was anyone but Ash, she probably would have said no nearly instantly. It took a nudge from Eevee for her to finally make her decision.

"So the one who wins the match and the tournament is the one who wins the bet, correct?" May made sure to double check.

"You got it."

"Alright Ash, I accept."

Starting to see the same old smile of hers beginning to peek through, Ash knew that it was at least starting to work.

"Great! Now all that's left is to shake on it." Extending his hand out, Ash felt her soft hand slide into his and give a firm shake. "You just better be prepared when I beat you."

"Okay then, what am I going to do if you win?"

"You're going to be my personal maid of course!"

May's jaw nearly dropped when she heard that. Out of everything that she expected to hear come out of Ash's mouth that was the last thing. Sure she had thought of the possibility of him asking for a kiss, but this…

"Where did you come up with that?"

"That's not part of the bet," he teased her. "You'll start my every day with a 'good morning' when I wake up, and end it with a 'goodnight' when I go to sleep. You're going to wait on me hand and foot!"

Although Ash looked completely serious while he was saying it all, May couldn't stop herself from cracking a smile and start to laugh. Her nervous nature when she first walked through those doors was virtually forgotten.

"So, to make it clear," Ash continued. "If I win, you're going to become my maid and wait on me every single day. You're even going to introduce me with 'this is my master' when we go out in public."

"This is a little out there for you to say, but alright, I accept. I only hope that you at least have something cute for me to wear," the brunette said to Ash, trying to play along.

"You don't have to worry about that! I'll have a bunch of dresses to choose from with Brock's advice and supervision."

"That's great!" She declared, still unable to stop laughing at the ridiculous bet. "I have no intention of losing but that actually sounds like fun."

"Alright May," Ash said as his exuberant attitude died back down to his normal tone. "Now it's your turn. If you win you can demand anything of me. You can even tell me to completely forget my feelings for you or say that you never want to see me again. It's completely up to you, and I'll obey without question."

The sudden revelation of what she could ask for dawned on the coordinator and her laughter died down just as fast. Being honest with herself, she didn't like either of those two he suggested. She wanted to be able to stay with Ash; he was one of the best things that came into her life and the thought of losing him felt like she would lose a part of herself in the process.

"Even if I win, those don't sound like much fun at all."

"And what's this, you want to change your mind?"

Without even thinking, May knew what she wanted to bet.

"I want the same thing as you," she quietly told him, a small smile on her face.

It was Ash's turn to be surprised at her suggestion. Even Brock didn't hint to the fact that she might suggest that.

"Wait, I'm the maid now?"

"You don't have to be the maid," she reassured him. "But I want the rest to be the same. I want you to be there and say 'good morning' to me when I wake up. I want you to say 'goodnight' at night. I want you to be kind to me a lot. I want us to have a lot of fun. So no matter who wins, we'll still be together."

Ash was speechless. True, he was prepared for the worst but he wasn't sure how to take this one. After hearing that he couldn't keep his mind from going right to the best option, but he knew that could only lead to expectations that might not be met. So all he could do at the time was go with the flow.

"We'll be together but the treatment is totally different!"

"Yep."

As she said that last word May was already starting to feel something come to the surface. Unable to hold back anymore at seeing his virtually unwavering grin throughout the entire time they were talking, her attempts to suppress as much of it as she could since last night was breaking down. Feeling the water start to well up in her eyes, the tears came nearly full force as she instinctively pulled Ash closer and put her head into his shoulder.

Completely surprised by her actions, the trainer was about to say something before she spoke up first.

"I'm sorry Ash," she got out. "I'm so sorry. I can only imagine how you felt after I left yesterday after saying such hurtful things while you said what you really felt. You're the best friend I've ever had and I don't want to lose that. I left simply because I couldn't give you an answer and I didn't want that pressure. After I got back to the hotel and truly realized what I said during that time, I was scared. I was scared that you would think the worst and it would destroy our friendship. I don't want to lose that no matter what happens; you've done so much for me I'm not sure what I would do if you just walked away. But to see you here grinning as always even after everything that I said was more than I could ever ask for."

As she was crying into his shoulder, Ash could only put his arms around her seemingly small frame to try and comfort her. While still holding onto her shoulder, Eevee was trying to help as well, but she was purposefully letting Ash do most of the work.

"You don't have to be sorry May," he finally said. "It was my fault I said all that in the first place and put you through that, but if it makes you feel better I forgive you. Like I said last night, the only thing I want is for you to be happy."

It took a few minutes but eventually her crying started to subside. By the time it finally stopped, she almost didn't want to let go of him because of the warm feeling she had just being in his arms like that.

"You feeling better now?" Ash asked when he figured she was done. Feeling a nod coming from her, the trainer was glad that everything was at least returning to the way it was before he said those three fateful words. "It was almost like you were holding all of that back until now."

Looking up at him with a small smile on her face, he was pleased that the tears were already gone and no longer took away from her sapphire eyes, having been absorbed into his shirt.

"Well you did tell me that if I was about to cry alone I should come to you, right?"

Blushing slightly as she brought back that line from their night in the forest, Ash still wasn't sure why those words came out of his mouth. But he wasn't regretting them at least. While he didn't really know how to take what she put up for the bet, Ash was glad that he was able to bring May's usual smile back. Even if it was a bit on the sad side after the tears, it wasn't the fake smile she was trying to pass off earlier.

"There, now you look much better," he couldn't resist from saying while pushing her unsecured bang back behind her ear. "Besides, all that attention you put into your new look would be wasted if you went out with that on."

Suddenly conscious of herself, May tried to understand what he was talking about. She couldn't feel any more tears and from the way he said it, it couldn't have been from him straightening her hair. Could it?

"I told you before, you look best when you're smiling. And it has to be with your real smile, not when you're trying to force it." Getting up from his spot, Ash figured that it was best to leave her be for now. He said what he wanted and even if she didn't seem to want to avoid him anymore, he didn't want to push it any further than he needed. "Oh, and your hair looks great. You should wear it down more often."

As he started to walk away, the trainer felt a tug at his sleeve. Looking back, he found May holding onto the fabric.

"You don't have to leave," she quietly told him.

Smiling down at her, Ash sat right back down on the bench. As he did, Pikachu and Eevee felt that the situation had calmed down enough that they came down from their trainer's shoulders and rested together on May's lap to await their call to start the last round.

"Thanks May."

"Anytime. Are you remembering to change your bandages?"

"Yes Mom, you don't have to worry about that."

* * *

><p>"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the finals of the fourth annual Auburn Town Pokémon Contest! We've had many promising contestants this year but only two can make it to the final round. First let us introduce your runner-up from the previous round. Hailing all the way from Hoenn, this coordinator of fourteen is the veteran of three Grand Festivals and at her best placed in the top four at the Kanto regional last year. Even if her attempt at the Johto regional this year didn't go as well, she has proven that it won't set her back one bit. It's my pleasure to introduce May Maple!"<p>

The cheers and applause rang out from the stadium as May entered the field with Eevee on her shoulder. Waving to the audience, the brunette was feeling a lot better since last night. Even if they didn't say much to each other after making their bet, the combination of the fact that Ash wasn't mad at her for her running off on him the night before and getting that last bit of crying out of her system was a major weight off her shoulders. Of course with the bet now in place she had no intention on losing. As interesting as it may have sounded she didn't want to have to be Ash Ketchum's maid anytime soon.

"As for our next contestant," the announcer started and waited for the nose to die down. "We were surprised to see we have the making of a true celebrity among our contestants this year. At only sixteen years old, this young man has an impressive record under his belt, and again to our surprise it is not as a coordinator. He is a veteran of having participated in the Indigo, Silver, Ever Grande, and Lilly of the Valley Conferences as well as the prestigious Orange League and Kanto Battle Frontier. Having claimed victory over the latter two, his ranking in the four regional conferences has increased with every entry to the point where some of you may recognize his current title, Champion of the Sinnoh League." It was then that the murmurs really started to grow from the spectators. "Hailing from the nearby Pallet Town, it's my pleasure to introduce the winner of our last round, Ash Ketchum!"

The whispers died down as the trainer stepped out and roars of applause quickly replaced them. Waving much like May did before him; Ash took his spot on the field

"Our two trainers are down to the last of their six Pokémon they registered with us and that means it's down to luck and trust in their Pokémon to allow them to come up on top. But as per our rules, as the runner-up from the last round, Miss Maple is required to send hers out first followed by Mr. Ketchum. It's then that we can get these finals started!"

"You ready to lose Ash?" May called out from across the field.

"I am ready anytime to face a loss May, but my next one won't be until after I win this!"

Grinning at the fact that there was actually more to this competition then any of the spectators knew, May threw out her final Pokémon. In the usual flash of light her Pokémon appeared. Standing tall on two strong legs, the red colored Pokémon was arguably May's strongest, and she took Ash's original strategy of the tournament to heart. The feathers that came off the back of its head was reminiscent of May's usual hair style and its three fingered, clawed hands looked just as deadly as its powerful legs. Opening its beaked mouth wide it gave off a strong cry as fire burst out around its wrists.

Ash couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of May's starter. It looked even more powerful than when it had the practice battle with Ivysaur.

"_I had a feeling that she would be May's last Pokémon,"_ he told himself. _"If I didn't know better I would have thought Dawn was behind her choice to make this a repeat battle. Unlike the last time though I'm not going up against a freshly evolved Pokémon, this is going to be a real uphill battle for me."_

"Alright, let's get this battle underway then. Sceptile, I choose you!"

Throwing his own Pokéball out, Ash revealed one of his own arguably strongest Pokémon. Also standing on two legs, but slightly shorter than his opponent, the Grass-Type seemed happy at who his next battle was against as he adjusted the twig in his mouth. The last time they dueled the outcome was ruled a tie, and he wasn't one to accept anything but a win. The green colored Pokémon flexed his own three clawed hands and made sure that his blades located on his arms were ready. But with the six yellow seeds growing on his back and a tail like a tree, his attacks revolved around more than just his iconic blades.

Coming from the same region as his opponent, the two Pokémon were very close, even if Sceptile wouldn't be the first to admit it outright. They had essentially grown up together and had proved their worth more times than they could count.

"This is looking a little familiar Ash," May pointed out as she saw Ash's own Hoenn starter pop out.

"But we won't let the results be the same, will we Sceptile?"

"Tile."

"And Blaziken and I will make sure that we win it this time, right?"

"Blaze!"

"It seems that the two contenders have each chosen the fully evolved form of one of the Pokémon given to beginning trainers in Hoenn," the announcer stated. "But it looks as though luck just wasn't with one of our combatants. Will the type disadvantage be too much for the Lilly of the Valley Champ? Only time will tell in the end. Because this is the final round the time has been set to fifteen minutes and the points have been increased likewise. Now begin!"

"Sceptile Quick Attack!" Ash called out without wasting any time. "We'll show them type isn't everything!"

"We can't underestimate them for even a second Blaziken!" May countered. "Too many trainers have lost to him because of that; keep him at range, Fire Spin!"

As Sceptile took off like a shot towards his target, Blaziken was just as quick to jump into the air to deliver her own attack.

Opening her beak, a cyclone of fire burst forth in line with the charging Grass-Type.

"Sceptile, Agility into Leaf Storm!"

Dropping down on all fours for a split second, Sceptile dodged left as the Fire-Type attack hit down and the cyclone turned into a tornado of flames. While moving back into a position below where Blaziken had just jumped, the six seeds on his back stared to glow green as leaves poured out of them, leaving a trail of them as he moved. By the time Sceptile stopped, the leaves were already surrounding the Blaze Pokémon who was stuck in mind-air.

"Use Flamethrower to incinerate the leaves, and aim the rest towards Sceptile!"

Opening her mouth once more, it took a matter of seconds for Blaziken to destroy the attack coming at her and as she was falling back down aimed it at the waiting Forest Pokémon.

"Counter with DragonBreath Sceptile!"

Opening his own mouth after taking a deep breath, the Hoenn starter released a torrent of energy colored with a yellow tint to intercept the Fire-Type attack heading towards it.

Hitting each other head on, the two attacks collided in a small explosion obscuring sight for both trainers. But even if they couldn't see they knew what was probably going to be happening behind the screen of smoke.

"Blaziken, Blaze Kick!"

"Sceptile, Slam!"

Calling out the attack simultaneously the two trainers instantly saw the smoke clear as the two new attacks collided. When the two Pokémon came back into view, both seemed rather uninjured. Sceptile had a few char marks on his tail but it wasn't enough to even start to slow him down. And the reasoning was quite obvious. Intercepting the Blaze Kick with his tail, the Grass-Type was grinning as the fires from the attack died down.

"Blaziken, another Flamethrower!"

"Dodge and use Quick Attack!"

As soon as the Fire-Type opened her mouth, Sceptile was already moving. Thanks to the earlier Agility the pyre of flames that came at him didn't even come close and even though Blaziken was trying to follow the amazingly quick Pokémon with her attack it wasn't enough as she felt the pain of the charge hit her right in the stomach.

"Sky Uppercut!"

"Blaze!"

Recovering as fast as she could, the flames on her right fist grew large as she sent the powerful uppercut into Sceptile's stomach in payback for his own attack she just received.

His eyes bulging wide as the attack hit, the Grass-Type was sent flying straight into the air.

"Hang in there!" Ash called out to his Pokémon. "Come back down with Dragon Claw and Night Slash in an X-Scissor type attack!"

"Sceptile."

Using his tail as a counterbalance to right himself in mid-air, Sceptile's blades grew to nearly three times their original size with each glowing a different color, the right one a deep sanguine red and the left one a brilliant white. Holding them across each other he came speeding back down aimed right at his opponent.

"Blaziken get out of the way!"

While she may not have understood how the attack would actually work out, May didn't want to test her luck by finding out first hand.

Making her move barely in time, Blaziken could see the two blade attacks go right by her by only inches. As Sceptile released the attack and they struck the ground two deep cuts spread out in a large X shape right where it hit. Each furrow easily two meters long.

"Bullet Seed!"

With his arms still coming back from the first attack, the Forest Pokémon looked at his opponent, who was still in the process of dodging his blades, and fired a barrage of small green pellets from his mouth.

"Overheat!"

Unable to physically dodge the attack, the Fire-Type had little choice as to how to stop it. With her body starting to glow read, Blaziken released a much larger blast of flame from her mouth then what she had been using before. The white hot flames immediately incinerated the Bullet Seeds and continued onto the attacker.

"Spin off to the side to dodge it," Ash commanded as soon as he heard May's counter. "Quick Attack into Night Slash!"

Using his left foot as a pivot point, the Hoenn starter avoided the attack and at that close range Blaziken was unable to even react to her opponent's speed. Skimming the edge of the flames and his right leaf blade extending and glowing red again, Sceptile made a clean hit and set the Fire-Type flying back.

May could hear her points falling from Ash's string of powerful attacks. Although with all his wasted movement and missed attacks of his own he wasn't that far ahead of her.

"That's Ash for you," she said to Eevee as a small bead of sweat made its way down her face. "We may have the type advantage right now, but against him something like that means nothing. His second round battle was proof enough that he loves using the speed of his Pokémon to create the advantage he needs. Even using Overheat meant nothing to him. I forgot what it was like going up against him, but it's exhilarating nonetheless. I need to figure out an opening for myself, all I need is one good hit and Blaziken's power will do the rest. Now to actually find that opening…"

"Charge a SolarBeam into Frenzy Plant!"

Tuning back to the battle, Ash wasn't even starting to let up.

With the light around him beginning to filter into the seeds on his back, Sceptile started to produce a green aura around himself. Slamming both if his fists to the ground, the Grass-Type released a multitude of thick thorny roots and vines to grow around the stadium.

"And of course he doesn't even give you a moment to think! Only once choice; Blaziken, Blast Burn!"

Releasing a red aura around her body again, it took only a moment for her to summon up a ball of fire that transformed into a massive wave rolling across the field. Colliding with the roots, the two attacks were perfectly matched. With every root the fire burned away another took its place. The field on May's side was nothing more than a wall of fire and vines and it took a good fifteen seconds before the two attacks finally cancelled each other out.

"Now while it's resting, double Dragon Claw!"

Bursting through the torched vines, May started to get scared when it looked as though Sceptile was almost ignoring the fact that after using those moves it required the Pokémon to rest a moment afterwards. She almost didn't believe Ash's command at first, but the charging Grass-Type with both of his blades glowing white proved he wasn't bluffing.

"Blaziken I know you're exhausted but, move!"

Panting heavily, there was little she could do. Blast Burn was not an easy move to pull off, and she was just as surprised to see her opponent moving as well as he was right after using his own version of the attack. But there was one thing she could do to avoid it. Relaxing her muscles, the Blaze Pokémon began falling backwards to the ground just as the two blades flew past where she was not even a second before. Finally catching her breath, her foot started to burn with flames and using her hands to balance herself Blaziken spun around in an attempt to hit him while his guard was down. But the agile Pokémon was on the exact same page as she was, and repositioning one of his blades deflected the attack off to the side. At least it knocked him off balance enough for her to recover her own footing.

"Prepare another SolarBeam!" Ash commanded. "And charge back in with Pursuit and Dragon Claw!"

As he was still skidding back and trying to regain his footing, the particles of light once again began collecting into the seeds on the Grass-Type's back. With his blades glowing a brilliant white again, Sceptile launched himself forward as soon as his feet got a grip on the soil.

"Not good, Blaziken dodge those blades!"

Once again the Fire-Type made the deadly attack miss by a hair.

"Spin and Slam!" The trainer happily called out.

Angling the free blade down to the ground, the Forest Pokémon created what could amount to an emergency brake and using that as the pivot brought his powerful tail right into his unsuspecting opponent.

Grabbing onto her stomach as the attack hit home, Blaziken staggered back a few steps just as Ash was giving out his next order.

"Now, another Dragon Claw!

"Blaziken we need to get off the defensive!" May yelled out to her own Pokémon, the desperation starting to show in her voice. "Flamethrower!"

Releasing his 'brake' as soon as he was facing Blaziken, Sceptile shot off again just as the Blaze Pokémon recovered from his last hit. Barely able to react, the Flamethrower was going to be a point blank shot nearly impossible to dodge with the way the Grass-Type was moving.

"Fire the SolarBeam!"

Opening his own mouth, Ash's Pokémon finally released the attack he was charging up since his last Pursuit.

As the two opposing attacks met a mere few feet from their respective creators, the more powerful SolarBeam snuffed out the Fire-Type attack with ease hitting Blaziken solidly in the chest. Though the beam wasn't large enough to be able to stop the entire attack as Sceptile still got hit by about half of the scorching flames launched at him. Stepping back while trying to endure the remains of the attack, the Forest Pokémon watched as his opponent was sent flying back from the force of his own attack. Bouncing a few times, she finally came to a stop a respective distance from her opponent.

While all this was going on, May was still trying to figure out how he was doing some of this, mainly with that earlier Frenzy Plant attack. Against a Blast Burn it should have at least put them on even grounds afterward, but he was able to virtually ignore the recovery portion of it. It then hit her.

"_Where was that first SolarBeam he ordered?"_

"Blaziken he used the energy from that first SolarBeam to help recharge Sceptile faster from the Frenzy Plant! We can't go toe to toe against him like that anymore!"

Biting down on her fingernail, May was starting to worry that even with the type advantage that she may not be able to win this. The coordinator thought she didn't underestimate the trainer, but he just brought forth something she would have never even considered before. That along with how fast his attacks were transitioning into each other she was having a hard enough time just staying on the defensive, let alone go on the offensive.

Standing to her feet after being pushed across half of the field, Blaziken nodded to show she understood. Then again with moves like they were using it didn't take a genius to figure out typing wasn't enough for this battle.

"Dang not bad May," Ash complimented her from his side of the field. "I'm surprised that you caught on that fast. I had originally thought about using it with Venusaur but I figured that it might work with Sceptile as well. It's not as effective because he doesn't get nutrition like Venusaur does but it looks like it works well enough. But this isn't over just yet, Sceptile DragonBreath!"

"Counter with Overheat!"

From opposite sides of the field the two attacks streaked across the ground and impacted right at the center, creating a large explosion and lifting a large amount of dust into the air.

"Overheat's power is already starting to drop off," May said to herself while nervously biting onto her lower lip. "I just need to get one good hit but the longer this goes on the harder it'll be for me to win. What would Ash do if he was in my position?"

"Eevee vee vee."

Smiling as she heard her Pokémon, May could take a good guess as to what she said.

"I may not be able to understand you Eevee but I think we both know what he would do. Forget about the consequences and go all out. It's not like keeping our distance is making this any easier; in fact it's only making it harder on us. Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast, and don't even give them a second to recover, right?"

"Vee!"

Turning back to her Pokémon on the field, May gave her next order with a large smile on her face. Sure she knew that she was technically the underdog in this battle, but battling Ash at his best was more invigorating then she could describe. "Blaziken, Bulk Up! We're going in close with Fire Punch and Blaze Kick!"

Taking only a moment to concentrate the Fire-Type took in a deep breath, as she exhaled and flexed her arms, every muscle in Blaziken's body increased in size with flames bursting forth from her feet and wrists.

"In that case, Sceptile use an Agility to prepare for the assault and hit her with Night Slash and Slam!"

Letting his muscles relax even further, Sceptile's arm blades grew into their now familiar crimson red color as he hit the ground a couple times with his tail.

"Go!" They both yelled at the same time as soon as the dust cleared.

All the precision and finesse of their earlier attacks seemed to go out the window as the two Pokémon met again in close range. With the claws on her hands and feet sheathed in a red hot flame, Blaziken started her barrage of attacks. Like a martial arts master, it looked like a blur of red as her fists and feet created a non-stop wave of attacks ranging from straight jabs and hooks to full roundhouse kicks. Amidst the onslaught of claws and fire, Sceptile wasn't backing down even an inch. Utilizing his far superior speed and reflexes, along with Detect when necessary, he was always one step ahead of the other Hoenn starter. Slashing at her with his deadly blades and mimicking her roundhouse kicks with his Slam at times, he wasn't anyone to be taken lightly.

But with her being part Fighting-Type Sceptile was barely able to get any attacks of his own in, and she was starting to skim his skin as fatigue started to kick in. At least with her on the full offensive, when he was able to get those few attacks in they were all direct hits.

From what was originally a rather even, if not slow, loss of points between the two of them from the start of the round, the barrage of dodging and repeat attacks caused both of the point totals to start dropping like a rock. Both the judges and veteran coordinators knew that this was no longer a contest battle; it was a full blown league battle where points didn't even exist. But while they were skeptical about how it was headed, the rest of the audience couldn't care less about that fact. Roars of cheers for both of the combatants were ringing out across the seating.

"DragonBreath!"

"Blaze Kick!"

As they launched the two attacks, both hit their mark exactly, sending the opponents skidding back several meters from each other.

As the two Hoenn natives looked at the other, they could see that they were both exhausted. A satisfied smile started to grow across both of their faces. It had been too long since they were able to fight like this. The only thing they regretted was that each knew the battle would be soon over.

"Sceptile, another Frenzy Plant!"

"Blast Burn!"

Once again, two of the most powerful elemental attacks met in the middle of the field; although after a few seconds it became obvious that this time the vines were starting to push the fires back.

"Blaziken, come on hang in there!" May cried out as she noticed the change in balance between the two attacks. "You only need to keep it from getting to you!"

Watching as the fires coming from her starter's mouth started to get smaller; the equilibrium created in the middle of the field broke completely as Frenzy Plant finally won out. But just as they broke through the intense flames, the immense vines stopped.

Both Pokémon were taking in heavy and ragged breaths. Completely exhausted from not only the melee that ensued right before but the second use of their ace attacks as well, the two starters were at their limits.

While standing there panting, the two Pokémon could feel a second wind overtake them. Blaziken became surrounded by an intense red aura while Sceptile was engulfed by an identical one of green. Steadying their breathing, both fighters stood ready for their next command.

"Overgrow and Blaze."

It was at that point their trainers too knew the battle was down to the last few moments.

"I don't think either of them has the strength left for another Frenzy Plant or Blast Burn May," Ash called out to her. "How about we give this one last attack? With their abilities active one solid hit from either will knock the other out."

"Sounds good to me Ash," she responded. "Although I'm the one going home as the winner of this battle."

"Only in your dreams May. Sceptile, SolarBeam!"

"Blaziken, Fire Blitz!"

May realized right away what Ash was going for, with a ranged attack he could try and get her before she hit him and thanks to the Frenzy Plant he just used his entire half of the field was covered in thick vines spiked with razor-sharp thorns making any approach one that forced the Pokémon to be very careful about where they ran. She could only wonder if he had ordered the previous attack knowing that this would be the outcome or if it was only dumb luck on his part. When it came to Ash, neither option would surprise her.

Due to the vines, ranged attacks were obviously preferable. Unfortunately, Fire Spin probably didn't have enough power to finish Sceptile off before he could launch the beam, Flamethrower might have, but if she was just a moment too late, the Grass-Type would overcome that attack with ease. Overheat was completely out of the question as it would be her third time using it in the match, and like Ash said, Blaziken didn't have the stamina to fire off another Blast Burn. So her options of attacks that could match SolarBeam's power were very limited.

As Sceptile started to take the glowing particles of light into its seeds, Blaziken leaned back on one foot and as she raced forward became engulfed in an intense red-orange fire. But because of Frenzy Plant's vines she couldn't rush straight at him, the Fire-Type had to carefully maneuver through the forest of spines and in the process gave her opponent the time he needed to prepare his attack.

Both Ash and May knew the winner of the battle all relied on when that SolarBeam would go off. If it hit first, Ash would win. If it was too slow and hit second, May won.

Time almost seemed to slow down as the Blaze Pokémon emerged from the tangled mass of vines and dashed the final few steps toward her target. Four strides, three, two, one. It wasn't until Blaziken was right upon him that Sceptile felt his attack was ready. Firing it off, he could only hope that it was in time.

As soon as the Grass-Type attack went off, a large explosion covered both Pokémon. For a moment nothing could be seen, and then the dust opened up as the bodies of the two Hoenn starters flew out in opposite directions, Sceptile skidding down over near his trainer while Blaziken slammed into one Frenzy Plant's vines.

"Sceptile!"

"Blaziken!"

Both were still conscious as they got up on their hands and knees. Blaziken could feel the intense pain wrack through her body as the recoil of her attack hit home. Catching herself before she fell completely, she was breathing heavily. To make it even worse she knew the SolarBeam hit her as well and she was barely able to keep herself from slipping into unconsciousness.

Sceptile wasn't much better. He too was panting deeply with charred skin across the front and sides of his body and was barely able to stay on his arms and legs. The attacks were so close he couldn't completely tell who hit first. His first thought was that he was able to make it, and from what he think he saw in that split second confirmed it. But with the amount of pain he was feeling he doubted his own eyes.

Both Pokémon struggled to their feet. Neither was willing to back down just yet. The encouraging calls from their trainers barely reached past their ears as they focused entirely on just trying to stand. Finally back to their feet, the two powerful Pokémon attempted to stand tall and proud yet again. But for one it didn't last long as the pain became too much and their eyes rolled into the back of their head before they fell forward into the dirt.

* * *

><p>This was supposed to originally go on longer but it got a bit too long and this seemed like a good place to end the chapter.<p>

As for the bet, I wonder how many of you recognize it. I got most of its idea from a fight to the death between two friends over whether or not aliens were taking over peoples' brains if you can believe it. I'll say the name of the series at the beginning of the next chapter but I'll give you guys a series of hints. It also involves a baseball bat, a hatchet, a life-sized mannequin of Colonel Sanders, and time travel. For those that have seen the series that probably has already given it away, lol.

And just so that it doesn't seem to be that much of a surprise, this was the second to last chapter. So that means the update in a couple days will be the last chapter of this fic. If you want to say something about that you can talk to me but I'll be giving out more info next time so it might just be easiest to wait.

Hope that you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading.


	31. Chapter 31

I knew that I would have at least a few other fans of that series reading this. As was mentioned by a reviewer already, that bet came from the roof scene between Keiichi and Rena. In fact Ash's new clothes were somewhat based off of Keiichi's. The anime is one that I highly recommend; the horror, mystery, and psychological thriller _Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni_. Otherwise translated as _When the Cicadas Cry_. And I'll say one thing, if you didn't think the cries of cicadas signified a growing tension you will after that series.

But enough about that, you guys probably want the results from the battle. So after a little over two months of posting and another two or three months of writing, we have come to the final chapter of _The Puppeteer's Wishes_.

* * *

><p>The buzzer loudly rang out across the stadium.<p>

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! After that impressive battle, we have a winner by knockout. Let me be the first to congratulate May Maple as the winner of the fourth annual Auburn Town Pokémon Contest!"

Sure enough, the one that fell was Sceptile. While he was barely able to get the SolarBeam off in time, Blaziken resisted it enough with Fire Blitz it make the decisive hit. But the fact that he still hit first wasn't unrewarded. Right after the announcer declared May's victory, the Fire-Type too felt a familiar sensation overtake her as the world went white and she too fell forward onto the dirt.

Unbeknownst to anyone else there, the Blaze Pokémon was on the verge of blacking out as soon as she hit the vines and every fiber of her body resisted her movements as she shakily stood. The only thing allowing her to endure it all and balance for those last few seconds as she got to her feet was her tenser then normal muscles, created by the single Bulk Up attack called near the end of the battle

Running up to their two Pokémon, Ash and May were both relieved that they were fine, just exhausted and out cold. Returning them to their Pokéballs, the two friends looked up at each other.

"Looks like you won this time," Ash said as he walked up to her.

"Maybe, but you kept the lead throughout most of the battle even when you had a type disadvantage. I remember now why some trainers got worried about going up against you."

"You're just exaggerating, I'm good but I'm not that good." Blushing at her comments, Ash was nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"No I'm not, I got lucky. Not only was I able to get the type advantage but I was also that fraction of a second faster to hit with Fire Blitz first."

"I thought I saw SolarBeam hit first but no matter. What I think is that you're now not giving yourself enough credit," he told her with a smile. But before they could say much else, both teens noticed several different people coming out of the various doorways around the arena. "And I think I'll be taking my leave here. I had to deal with these guys enough last week; I'll let you experience it this time. Personally, I hate this type of people. Want me to take Blaziken to the Pokémon Center for you?"

Not entirely understanding what the trainer was talking about, she handed over the object her starter was contained in.

"Thanks." Putting the ball on the open slot in his belt, Ash grabbed another one and pulled it off. "We'll have to talk later."

"Miss Maple, how does it feel to win this year's Auburn Town Contest? Do you feel lucky to be able to have the advantage in the end against your opponent, especially against the Lilly of the Valley Champion?"

"Mr. Ketchum, Mr. Ketchum. What have you decided for the time for your match against Cynthia and the Sinnoh Elite Four?"

"Miss Maple you seem to be very friendly with Mr. Ketchum, do you know him personally? And if so is there anything between you two?"

"Mr. Ketchum, why did you decide to come down here instead of staying up in Sinnoh? Are you nervous about facing Cynthia who's held her title for the last ten years?"

Releasing the Pokémon inside of his Pokéball, every reporter took several steps back at the large bird emerged from the devise. They all remembered what happened in its battle the day before, and along with the size they all second guessed taking another step forward.

Giving a discrete wave to May, Ash quickly climbed aboard Pidgeot.

"Alright Pidgeot," he said. "Let's get out of here. I don't want to have to deal with these guys again."

"Pidgeot!"

Spreading his wings wide, the Bird Pokémon took one large flap and was instantly heading toward the sky. With everyone in the stadium watching, he continued to fly up and out of sight in no specific direction.

"He left us." May muttered to Eevee as everything that he was talking about finally fit together. "I can't believe it; he left us. Apparently even Ash Ketchum has something that he's scared of."

Of course as he finally disappeared, all the reporters turned their attention back to May. Before long they were nearly swarming over her, asking almost every question imaginable.

* * *

><p>"I hope May is alright, I did kinda leave her there."<p>

"Pikachu Pikapi."

"Hey the fact that I love her has nothing to do with this. I dealt with those guys last week and I would like to keep as little contact with them as possible."

The sun was already setting as Ash was lying down on the grass at the spot he confessed to May the night before. It was secluded enough off the main path that he figured that there was little chance that anyone would find him out here and he liked that idea, especially after his new title was announced to everyone in the arena. Even if they were at a contest there were undoubtedly league fans among them and if he exited through the front door it would be a repeat of Sinnoh.

After exiting the stadium he headed straight for the Pokémon Center to get their two Pokémon taken care of. As he expected, Nurse Joy informed him that they would be fine with a good amount of rest. Leaving them there he knew that it was better for them to rest like that instead of just in their Pokéballs with him.

Looking out over the sea of darkening trees, Ash could feel that many things in his mind were starting to come to a conclusion, the most obvious one being the tournament. Even though he only took second place in the end, he wasn't disappointed at all. First and foremost he was able to get through that third round almost entirely thanks to Venusaur and his decision to evolve. Truth be told, that was the round he was most worried about winning. He knew he was no true coordinator, and the fact that he needed to be in the top two of 25 in a contest where there were plenty of high class coordinators only made the challenge even greater. That's not to say he didn't owe all his Pokémon to be able to get him that far.

But the other reason he wasn't disappointed was that the person he lost to was May. The original reason he thought of coming to this place was for her to get her confidence back. Sure, he had a slight secondary motive as well, but he never lost sight of his original goal. Even before he asked Brock and decided to make a bet with May, part of him had considered throwing the match at some point discreetly and allowing her to win. It didn't take long for him to toss that idea aside. Besides the fact that it would only lessen her victory if he did that, she was probably one of the few people that could tell if he was putting forth everything. Because of this, he came at her with his full strength. And she overcame it, with her own strength nonetheless. He knew he had a large disadvantage from the start of that battle, but he had many advantages besides that as well. The fact that she was able to win in the end only made him feel even prouder.

"A lot has happened this past week, hasn't it Pikachu?"

"Pika."

"At least our little mission was successful, May got her confidence back completely. And I think I've finally completely decided on my own dilemma. With the fun I had going up against a challenge where I'm at that much of a disability brought back quite a bit of the thrill I felt with my earlier unofficial battles with Elite Four members. And because of that I'm going to put the fact that I didn't get to face Paul in the Lilly of the Valley Conference aside and start really training for my now official fights against the Sinnoh Elite Four and, more importantly, Cynthia. I think all I really needed was for something else to preoccupy my mind for a while so I could let go of that problem. Doing that, I could then move forward and go for what I really wanted to do in the first place. I admit that I still would have rather gone up against him and won, but I can't let one battle delay me from moving forward with my real goal." Pausing to glance out as the last remnants of the sun disappeared below the horizon and painted the sky a beautiful orange-red, he could feel a small smile come to his face. "There's only one thing that I really didn't completely resolve, and because of that I might have to put off that dream a little. I did lose the bet after all. And while she didn't specifically say it, it does somewhat imply that I have to stay with her and go where she goes. So if she wants to go to someplace other than Sinnoh it could cause problems."

Thinking back to the bet, Ash still couldn't completely understand why she said all that and if there was any meaning behind it. Did it imply that she actually liked him back? But by this point he had already convinced himself that he couldn't try and expect the best case scenario right off the bat. If he did that and found out that it didn't turn out the way he hoped, it would only make him feel worse in the end. So while he was still hoping for the best, he tried not to think about it. The one thing he was thankful for was that she didn't go with either of the ones he suggested via Brock's script, especially considering she won. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if she said either. Even if she chose him forgetting his feelings he probably would have had to leave her for a long time in an effort to actually do that. Just looking at her face continually brought back these new feelings, and if he stayed near her he would only be reminded of it every minute of every day.

"I can only wonder what she has planned."

"Talking to yourself again Ash?"

Surprised at the voice, the boy looked back to see May standing above him smiling.

"After seeing that you weren't at the hotel I figured that I would find you here," she continued as she sat down next to him. "Considering what happened last night I couldn't really blame you."

Before she could say anything else, Eevee happily jumped down from her trainer's shoulder and quickly made her way over to the other side of Ash where Pikachu was currently curled up. Taking the initiative, she gently pushed her way into him and made herself comfortable as she was able to once again feel that safety blanket that was him.

Surprised by the two girls' sudden arrival, Pikachu wasn't ready for the Normal-Type to come and get up next to him. He wasn't resisting or anything, but glancing down over her, he felt almost as proud as his trainer did over the one he was looking over.

Noticing his stare, Eevee couldn't help herself. Raising her head up just enough to put them face to face, she gave him a light lick on the nose and continued on to rub her head under his chin, stimulating him almost exactly like she did the last morning they were together. Caught off guard by the lick alone, the mouse could feel a goofy grin grow across his face at the feeling of her tongue on the sensitive spot. But while she was doing this for their mutual enjoyment as much as an 'I'm back' gesture, there was one other reason she did this. Turning to look directly into his eyes, the Evolution Pokémon put on what she hoped was a slightly seductive pose as she asked the question.

"Eevee vee vee, vui?"

Between her sensual greeting and beating him to the question that he was planning on asking her tonight, turned out to be a bit too much for the Electric-Type.

"Pika…" he nodded yes before melting back down to the ground next to his future mate.

"Eevee!"

Overjoyed that he accepted, the small Pokémon rubbed her cheek up against his to get that tingling feeling of his electricity flowing across her body. He was barely even responsive, a sharp change the last time he probably had thoughts of being a father, but she was in no way disappointed with his reaction. In fact she was hoping that it would be something like this. It wasn't her time just yet, so she still had to wait, but at least she wouldn't be alone again when it came up. Cuddling up to his body again, she relaxed into those wonderful feelings being near him brought. Though she kept herself from getting too comfortable, she had to make sure to pay attention to the other two there.

"And they look happy to be able to be back together," the brunette giggled as she watched Pikachu's reactions. "But as for you mister," turning her attention back to Ash, May gave him a good glare. "You left me high and dry to deal with those paparazzi all by myself. And after I finally rid myself of them I had to wade through a sea of people claiming to be my fans. Do you have any idea of how annoying that was?"

"Yeah, I kinda do."

Noticing his tone, May's attitude changed slightly. She was only joking, but either he wasn't getting it or there was something else on his mind. Although she could probably take a guess at it, the brunette didn't want to start making assumptions with everything that was on the line.

"Ash, are you okay? You don't seem all that happy right now."

"Don't worry May, I'm fine. But I did at least make up my mind on what I'm going to do about the Sinnoh Elite Four. Even though I wasn't able to beat Paul in the tournament there, I've decided that if I get the chance I'll challenge them to a match once I'm ready."

"That's great Ash! I'm happy to hear that." It took her a second to catch a word in there that didn't seem right. "But why did you say 'if'? I thought that all you had to do was contact Cynthia and set a date."

"Technically, you're right," he told the coordinator. "But you have to remember, I lost our bet. And while I can't say I dislike the terms that you set, and I thank you for taking out the maid portion, it does imply that I need to stay with you and go where you go. If you decide to go to someplace besides Sinnoh, there isn't much I can do."

Putting on a knowing smile, May inched closer to the boy.

"You're looking a little too much into it Ash," she calmly said to him. "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant to say with that was that I want us to stay together. I have so much fun being with you that I don't want it to end. Do you know what I was going to ask last night before you said what you wanted to say first?" Making sure to wait until he shook his head no, she told him the answer. "I was going to ask you if I could travel with you again, and originally it was because of these last few days and the fun that I had being with you after that many months. You even helped me get my coordinating back in line to the point where I was able to beat Drew again. It just all reminded me of how we were back when Max and Brock were traveling with us. But after what you said last night, I know now that it will be almost impossible to exactly go back to that feeling we had only a year ago."

Ash could feel himself flinch as she said those words. He knew it was true, and it was the change that he was truly afraid of by telling her everything.

"Needless to say you surprised me after you said all that. After all these years I've taken you for the boy who wouldn't know love if it hit him right in the face, and I never gave up the chance to make fun of you for it while we were together. Well it turns out you knew more than I thought, even to the point of who you felt that to, and I was the one who couldn't see what should have been in front of me. Because looking back on everything since our night in the woods, while it wasn't completely obvious there were more than enough hints that I should have seen the real picture. So I didn't know what to think when you said that it was me you felt that to. By the time you finished and looked like you expected an answer from me, I froze. I didn't know what to say. All I could think of was to get away from the situation to where I could think about it without pressure.

"After I left, I realized in my rush for my own comfort how you probably took my answer. I was awake when you got back to the room, but after I realized what I must have put you through I couldn't bring myself to talk to you at that time. It was only after I thought about what you said and how I felt about everything did I feel I was able to talk. Although I assumed that you might say something first, I never expected you to propose that bet. Even with the thoughts of your confession on my mind, it was fun to bring that up and try to get things back to normal." Pausing for a moment, May couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "Now who seems to be going on a rant? To make things a little shorter, I've thought about what you said to me last night and I've come up with an answer."

Taking in a deep breath, Ash knew that this was what he had been waiting for the last couple days. The experience brought him right back to last night, a mix of anticipation, anxiety, and pure fear. Yet along with those was still that little light of hope that she would feel the same way, or at the very least to be open to the idea of letting it grow between them. Right before she started to speak again though, his guilt overcame that light and got the better of him and Ash interrupted her.

"May, you can stop right there," he said much to her surprise. "It was selfish of me to say that to you last night and force this decision on you. I know that this has probably been on your mind today as well as last night, and I don't want to have to be the one to put you through deciding something like that. So you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. The bet was that I would essentially follow you where you want to go and I'm fine with leaving it at that."

Seeing just how hard it was for him to say those words, May couldn't help but feel sorry for him. After everything that he said to her last night, it was very obvious to her that even though he meant everything he told her, part of the boy was wishing that he never said a single word of it all. It was odd though, seeing the same Ash Ketchum that for the longest time she pictured as the courageous and fearless trainer suddenly visibly nervous and trying to back away from something. Yet through it all she could still see the same old Ash in there, worrying more about his friends than himself, even when it came to something of this nature. But she too made a decision, and while this discussion may have been stressful to him, she wanted to get everything out.

"It's true; you did kinda force me to think about this," she told him, much to his apparent discomfort. "But you have one thing wrong Ash, I'm not saying this because you want me to, I'm saying it because I want to. Because I had to think about it, I came up with a few answers of my own. Even if I didn't figure everything out, the one thing that I know for sure is, like what you probably felt too, I didn't want to lose being able to stay with you. That was part of the reason I chose my portion of the bet. I may not know if this really is love, but I do know that you are one of a kind and I couldn't bear losing you." Moving up right beside the trainer, May could feel the warmth and safety that she could feel that night in the woods return. "So before I say anything else, I just have one more question for you Ash. How did you finally know that you loved me?"

With her body so close to his again, Ash's mind was in pure bliss. He may have not gotten the full answer from her yet but it was enough to know that she wasn't repulsed by the fact he loved her and she seemed curious as to how she felt too. Hesitantly putting his arm around behind her as if to support himself as he leaned back, the smile on his face grew even larger when he felt her take his hand in her own and guide it to her waist.

"I got asked that question before," he finally said. "First of all, like I said last night, I love seeing your smile and I'll do whatever I can to make sure that you never lose it. But that alone wasn't enough. What it finally came down to was actually after we were like this that night in the forest."

"And that was?"

"I knew I was in love because I didn't want to fall asleep. I didn't want to sleep because I knew for once, reality was better than what I could experience in my dreams."

Blushing at the thought he was thinking that about her, May couldn't help but grin at the thought that someone like Ash Ketchum was saying that to her of all people. The fact that all they did was sleep next to each other made the statement even more surprising. But the most important thing was she knew he wasn't one to say something of that nature without a good reason behind it.

"That's sweet Ash; I didn't know you had a little bit of a poetic side to you. For me, my idea of love has been a little different. It's always been based on something that someone told me when I was really young. 'We were given two hands to hold, two legs to walk, two eyes to see, and two ears to listen. But why only one heart?'" Giving a little dramatic pause, May continued. "'Because the other was given to someone else, for us to find.' From the moment I heard it I've always loved the way that sounds, and was hoping that love really did feel like that."

Taking a moment to collect the last of her thoughts, May came to her own decision. "Okay, I think I've finally made my choice. Ash Ketchum, I think I can accept the fact that I'm the one you chose and am willing to see if my feelings for you are just as deep, if not deeper, then what you told me last night. You are the closest person I could ever think of as a match for me, and just like you hold the other half of our Terracotta Ribbon, I could see you as having that second heart of mine. Although I don't think that I'll be able to put them into words as well as you did, I can now say this at least without much doubt. I feel as though you are the other half to myself and together we form a whole. To put it simply Ash, I think I'm beginning to understand how and why you feel what you do towards me." Holding her hands up against her chest, May could feel her heartbeat. To her surprise it wasn't racing as she expected, it was calm and steady. "And the reason that I'm starting to understand it is because I think I'm starting to feel the same thing towards you."

Surprised at her answer, the trainer looked down at the girl next to him.

"Really?"

"Yep," the brunette confirmed. "As I said, I'm not completely sure if this is love that I'm feeling but I do know that you mean more to me than just an ordinary friend, and I have to say that my dreams haven't come close to the way I'm feeling right now. For the last week Dawn has been pressuring me into revealing potential boys I liked and on more than one occasion mentioned how you had many good qualities as a boyfriend including how any girl that was interested in you would only have to get past your single-minded nature towards Pokémon. While at the time I didn't like her pressing the fact that it was my best friend who she was trying to prove whether he would be a good boyfriend, I couldn't deny that she was right. Seeing as how you've already done the hard part for me, it was only more incentive to explore how I really feel."

"_Dawn was manipulating her too?"_ Ash still wasn't too happy with the thought that Dawn tried to push the subject so hard with him to the point where he couldn't get it out of his head, but to go behind his back and do almost the same thing with May gave him a rather bitter sensation. Feeling May shift slightly in his arm though made him reconsider. _"Then again if it wasn't for her none of this probably would have happened. Although I don't want to admit it, I'll probably have to thank her the next time I see her."_

"Oh yeah, since we're being honest with each other right now Ash, there's one more thing that I want to say."

"Huh? What's that May?"

"Well, it's not entirely something to say but more I was kind of secretly hoping that you would have been made your side of the bet."

Pulling away slightly from his arm around her, May positioned herself in front of the boy and before Ash could completely comprehend what she was doing he was experiencing his first kiss.

For the brunette it was her first kiss as well, and as she said, part of her was hoping for him to claim it as his side of the bet today. Although she was giving away her first kiss to him, as she withdrew from the short and light touching of lips any residual doubt of her wondering if she had chosen the right thing were slowly vanishing. When she opened her eyes again, the coordinator let out a soft giggle at seeing Ash wide eyed and almost unresponsive.

"What's the matter Ash?" She teased. "You don't like stealing the first kiss of the girl you love?"

Finally snapping back to reality, Ash knew at least one thing.

"I'm not really sure," he told the coordinator with a playful smile. "I think I'll need another example before I decide."

"If this is what you are going to be like in the future I think I'm going to have to get used to a different Ash from now on," May laughed. "But I see no harm in letting you have another one."

Pulling her back in this time, Ash brought their two lips back together for another, much longer, kiss. Without thinking he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer, enjoying the warmth and softness that he could feel from her body. Feeling her smile slightly into his lips, May responded by moving her own arms up around his shoulders and neck to likewise pull him closer as well. Now that he was ready for this one he was able to savor the softness of her lips and he also confirmed that she did in fact wear lip gloss. Either that or her lips had a natural cherry flavor to them. Although both had heard that some kisses go a little further than just the two sets of lips touching, neither wanted to ruin the moment they were in by going too far for their second kiss.

"It's amazing," Ash said as they finally pulled away.

"What is?"

"Kissing the one you love is amazing."

Blushing once again at his comment, May could only smile and move back to his side, pulling the trainer closer as she did.

"You really are something else."

"I could say that same thing about you, Angel."

May could feel her heart flutter again as he called her that.

"That name again. You don't actually plan on using it, do you?"

"Why not? You said it yourself that you like it."

Hesitating for a moment, the brunette looked away from him before answering. Even after she came out and said how she felt about him, May still didn't feel comfortable having someone watch her blush.

"Fine, you can use it. But only when we're alone."

"What? Do you hate the name Angel?"

Feeling the same sensation again, May knew by now that it was almost the exact opposite.

"You know the answer to that already. It's not that I hate it, it's just…"

"You're still embarrassed by it, right?" He finished up for her.

"Yeah, that's about it."

"Alright then, I can agree to that for now. I don't want to make you any more uncomfortable then what you're okay with."

"If we're talking about what I'm comfortable and uncomfortable with, you know you can touch my hair anytime you want. As long as you don't mess it up."

Stiffening slightly, Ash wondered if he had been found out.

"Yes, I know you did it a couple nights ago," she told him, noticing his reaction. "I wasn't completely asleep when you did it, although I get the feeling that wasn't the first time either." Chuckling as he didn't seem to calm down, May put her head down onto his shoulder. "Relax Ash; you don't have to be so worried about it. I kind of liked it."

Even though he essentially got the approval that he was worried about when he ran his hand through her hair, there was one other thing that he wasn't sure if she knew about that he did that night. Unbeknownst to him, while she was barely awake for the hair, she was out by the time he gave her the kiss on her head. Considering she didn't mention it he was assuming that was the case, but worrying that the conversation would take a turn in that direction, Ash quickly got up from his sitting position. Staring at his odd reaction to her comment, May wondered if she said or did something wrong.

"You want to leave already?"

While he was still happy with everything that happened, and the continued physical contact with May was also beyond what his dreams prepared him for, he still felt like he had to get used to being that close to her in that manner. Especially while wondering if she minded the first kiss he gave her. He would tell her about it, eventually. Though he did have an idea to make up for it.

"Not quite." Pulling a Pokéball from his belt, he looked over at their two Pokémon, who were patiently listening in throughout the entire conversation, and then to May. Holding out his hand he put on a courteous but gentle smile. "I was thinking of taking you on a little trip, to a place where angels belong and wishes come true."

* * *

><p>From some nearby bushes a certain friend of theirs watched as Ash let Pidgeot out of his Pokéball and after positioning himself, May and their Pokémon on his back, they took off into the now dark sky.<p>

"To where angels belong. Dang Ash, you almost aren't like the same person anymore. Although I think I can now see why she wanted to hide that little name from me."

When they were finally out of sight, Dawn came out of her hiding spot with Piplup sitting on her head.

"And with that the last of my strings have been cut. While it doesn't look completely ironed out, I think my work is done at least. Now Ash can't say that I didn't pay him back for all the help he gave to me in Sinnoh." Glancing up to where the two of them were no doubt now flying around, the blunette felt a familiar feelings welling up inside of her. "Yep, and I'm still jealous of May. Whether it's because she found someone who loves her or if it's because it was Ash in particular who loved her I can't tell, and I don't want to know. I'm the closest he has to a little sister and nobody can take that away from me. I'll find a boy of my own someday."

Making sure that there weren't any leaves or dirt on her clothes, Dawn looked up at the Water-Type sitting on her head.

"So now that we don't have to keep following those two around, how about we head back to the hotel? I think Shinx will probably want to spend a little more time outside of his Pokéball, and I get the feeling that they won't be back anytime soon."

"Piplup pip!"

* * *

><p>"I can never get tired of this," May sighed as Pidgeot slowly flew across the night's sky. "The moon and stars seem so close you could reach out and touch them."<p>

They were soaring over the dense Viridian Forest at that moment and the silhouette of the Indigo Mountain Range appearing behind the half moon. Surrounding it all were the stars that seemed to just keep appearing as darkness continued to fall. May was behind Ash holding onto his mid-section, while Eevee and Pikachu were in the front with him.

"I'm glad that you enjoy it, like I said this is where angels really belong."

"There you go again with that. I already told you what you probably wanted to hear concerning it. You really like that name, don't you?"

"What can I say? You came up with the name yourself. Originally it was fun teasing you with it considering how you reacted, but that started to change once I figured out how I felt. I couldn't forget how when I first woke up after falling, even if I still couldn't see straight, looking at you brought that image to my mind first. Besides, the name just seems to flow off your tongue, and personally I think it suits you. Or at least they're the closest thing that can compare to you."

Glaring at him, May started to feel a little set back at some of his comments.

"Okay Ash, I'm flattered by everything you're saying but tell me the truth. I know you didn't come up with some of these phrases by yourself, didn't you?"

"What makes you say that?" He asked, trying to hold back his nervous laughter.

"Because it just doesn't sound like you. I've known you for a long time now and you've never talked like that before. Not to mention I have a hard time believing that the same Ash who knew nothing about romance just a few days ago is now saying things like this."

"Alright, you found me out," he admitted, not wanting to lie to her after what just happened. "It was Brock's idea, although I can't say I don't agree with the words."

"And the bet?"

"His idea too."

Putting away her hard glare, May rested her head on his shoulder like she did the first time they were on Pidgeot.

"Now that makes a lot more sense. But when you think about it that way, it almost seems like he actually knows what he's doing when it comes to girls. Makes you wonder why he's failed that many times before." Shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts of that odd paradox, May figured they could talk to Brock about it sometime else. "I don't have too much of a problem with you talking like that, but you don't feel like the normal Ash when you do. So try not to imitate him too often."

"Yes Angel."

For the first time since he started calling her that, May actually felt somewhat comfortable hearing it. Sure it still made her heart seem to flutter a little, but it wasn't something that she disliked.

Finally starting to completely come to his senses after Eevee's question, Pikachu was slightly surprised to find himself up in the air. Looking around he found the Normal-Type right next to him, contently enjoying his company, even if at that point he was barely conscious. Now that he was back, he was able to actually process everything that was happening between the two of them. The best part about all of it was that he couldn't remember the last time he saw her look this happy, and it just wasn't from her body language either. There was just something about her as a whole that seemed to shine to him.

Noticing that he was up and about, Eevee looked up at her new mate-to-be. Now seemingly over the initial shock of her question, the expression he had on appeared as though he was already a father. Of course she too was happy beyond words that he accepted, but she found it funny that he looked as though the act was already done even if it wasn't her time yet. While looking up at him though he did something that she wasn't expecting. Moving down to her level, he gave her a quick lick on her nose and rubbed his check up against hers to create that light current running through her body, much like she did to him only minutes ago. Not considering that he would rebound as fast as he did, she didn't think that he would do something like that anytime soon. Seeing that he only had a comforting smile on his face, she didn't react in the same manner he did but rubbed back up against the underside of his chin. Just the way she had learned he liked it.

Eevee found her spot that she had wanted for so long, and now she was in it. But the oddest thing was that it didn't feel as she originally expected. Sure she was happy to be next to the mate she wanted all this time, yet there was more to it. The way she understood being bonded to another as mates, beyond the obvious, was that to stay with them for more than one baby the two needed to enjoy each others' company. Sure she enjoyed his company alright; in fact she could almost say that she craved it by this point. She felt happy beyond words could describe just being next to him, it both made her heart race and allowed her to relax at the same time. There was something telling her that this was more than just being mates.

For the longest time the idea of Pokémon and the human idea of love was black and white to her, complete opposites and unable to mix. Then meeting up with Pikachu again and reigniting what she felt just being near him created grey, but she still didn't think that she loved him. But after seeing how Ash reacted to being around her trainer and how her trainer had been reacting to Ash, she couldn't help but see the similarities between them and herself and Pikachu. Maybe all this time she was wrong. Maybe black and white didn't necessarily exist in a definition like that. Either way, if it was for him, she could care less what they called it. Be it love or simply mates, it didn't matter; only as long as she could stay by his side.

Unable to keep a smile back at watching their two Pokémon, May's thoughts went back to what Ash had said before they took off.

"I can agree that this would definitely be the place where angels belong," she told him while looking out at the thousands of stars above and around them. "But how is it a place where wishes come true?"

"There's an old legend in Kanto that every time something good happens or someone experiences true happiness, an orb of light appears," Ash explained as they continued their flight. "And while you can't always see them, if you can obtain one of these orbs a single wish of yours will be granted. It can be any one wish that your heart truly desires, even one that can turn back the hands of time and undo the past. While these stars may not be the orbs in this legend, this is my present to you for winning the Auburn Tournament and for getting your confidence back. I'll grant you three wishes, and promise to fulfill them to the best of my ability."

Smiling at the consideration that he obviously had but into this, May knew she was happy enough as it was.

"And what if I say I don't have anything that I want to wish for? Because I already have the one thing that I would have wished for, my best friend and new boyfriend to stay by my side forever."

"Then I say you aren't being completely honest with yourself," he said with a bit of a grin, even if it did feel a little odd being called that. "I was selfish for forcing this entire thing onto you so you in turn can be selfish too and ask for whatever you want."

"Alright then." Deciding to indulge herself a little with his gift, May didn't want to upset him by saying much else. He was doing this for her and although she was happy enough as it was, there were a few things that could make it better. "My first wish is to become the greatest coordinator in the world."

"That one might take me a while, but it's yours," the boy responded with his usual optimistic smile. "I'll make sure to support you all the way until that title is in your hands. And your next wish?"

"My next one is that I want you to be as happy as I am."

Unable to hide the blush that spread across his face at her comment, he couldn't say that he disliked the wish at least.

"You know I told you that you could be a bit more selfish with these Angel. You don't have to do something for me."

"But it's what I want," May said to him while holding on a little tighter. "Are you going to suddenly deny my wish?"

Shaking his head, Ash could only wonder what he might have gotten himself into with this little idea.

"No, it's yours. Because as long as I can stay with you and see your smile every day, I can be happy forever."

"I thought I told you to stop using Brock's lines," she warned the trainer.

"I promise that I'm not," Ash reassured the brunette. "That was something that came to my head without anyone's help, and from what I can tell from the years we've been together I know that it's true. So then what's your final wish?"

It took another few seconds before May said anything.

"Well there is one more thing that I have somewhat been thinking about. But…" Pausing momentarily, she shook her head. "I don't think that I could ask that from you."

Somewhat surprised at her sudden shyness, Ash could only wonder what was going through her head.

"Don't worry May," the trainer reassured her with a big smile. "Like I said, if it's within my ability to do so I'll do it. You just have to say it."

Looking away from him, her answer was something that he never was going to guess would come from her mouth.

"A baby."

"Huh?"

"Can't I?"

"Well…I…guess that's within my, um, ability…" he stuttered, caught completely off guard.

Ash turned somewhat pale at the thought as his throat went dry. Even Pikachu and Eevee looked up at May with that of complete shock. Sure the implications of this wish had been dancing around his mind for the past few days, mainly thanks to the passing comments of a certain blunette, but he was nervous enough about saying those three words. To do that…

To what would become the boy's relief, May started to burst out laughing. She had to turn her head away from him to keep a straight face, but she just wanted to see his reaction.

"You should have seen your face!" She got out while still laughing. "It was priceless!"

"Hey! I was being honest with all of this!" He countered as what just happened sunk in.

"Sorry Ash, I couldn't resist." Wiping the few tears that came to her eyes from laughing that hard, May put her head back onto his shoulder and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"That wasn't funny May," the trainer finally said. "I know I'm not ready to be a father, and I'm not even sure if I would be a good one at that."

"Relax Ash, the idea of children is on virtually every person's mind at some point, girls especially, and we can't help imagining what having them would be like. Though I have to admit that I too am not ready to be a mother. Personally though I think that you would be a great father, if you treat your future kids with even half as much love as you do your Pokémon they would be really lucky."

"So what half are you talking about, the raising half or the battling half? Because I think I could get my kids to be rather famous as…"

"Don't even think about finishing that line," May quickly stated.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ash got out with a light chuckle. Pausing momentarily, the boy couldn't help but wonder about something. "And what was your image like?" He somewhat hesitantly asked. "Of your family, that is."

Slightly surprised at the question, the coordinator had to think back to what her imagination had made for her countless times in the past.

"First would be having a couple kids, twins preferably, a boy and a girl with maybe even more after that. We would live in a somewhat spacious house close to the ocean with a loving and caring husband by my side. I know, it's rather simple, but I think that I would be happy enough even if that was all my life came to."

"And how do I compare to that imaginary husband?"

"He's better looking," she told him without a second thought. "But overall you're better than anything my dreams have shown me, and if it ever comes down to that I don't think I would be disappointed with the idea. On the topic of what will happen though, what are we going to do now that the contest is over?" She asked, head still on his shoulder. "Because remember, you still lost the bet so wherever you go, I'm going with you. And at least for now, we're stuck together."

"What, going back on your choice now? Because you could have simply wished for it."

"Not if you aren't," she countered.

"Never in a million years." Thinking a little about what would work for the both of them; Ash came up with something that could work. But before he suggested that he needed to run something by her first that he decided even before this one. "I have an idea, but before we go anywhere though I made a bit of a promise to Pikachu and myself."

"A promise?"

"After Bulbasaur evolved I couldn't get the thought that I finally had half of my original team back with me and made the decision to try and bring as much of my original team back together again. While I don't know where Butterfree is, and I want to find out at some point, I was thinking of getting Squirtle and Charizard together with Pikachu, Pidgeot, and Venusaur. Maybe we can even see if Squirtle wants to come back with us. Those two will be surprised to not only see Venusaur as he is but to see Pidgeot again period. Would you like that too Pidgeot?"

"Pidgeot!" The bird happily called out. Pikachu was always the one he was closest to among Ash's other Pokémon, but he still wanted to meet up again with the others after that many years.

"So would you mind if we took a bit more time off to do this?"

Smiling at the thought that Ash wanted to do take the time off for something like that, she knew that there was no why she could disagree.

"That's fine by me Ash," she told him while pulling him a little closer again. "I know how much they mean to you so it would be selfish of me to say anything else. But knowing about where Charizard is now, I don't think he'll be able to stay too long. So then what's your idea for after that?"

"How about we head back to Sinnoh?"

"Sinnoh?"

"Sure, I can spend the year preparing for my Elite Four battle by training and maybe challenging the gym leaders again and you can participate in the contests up there. Not to mention that your rivals are going to be going up there as well. To be able to grant you your first wish you need to stay sharp."

"Are you sure Ash? You just came back from there. Wouldn't you want to go someplace different to train?"

"I'm perfectly fine with it; I just want to make sure that you don't miss out on any contests. I'm just not sure how you would take it. Personally I think that it would be good overall. I'd even get to push the fact that I got second in the contest in Drew's face."

"Now Ash, he's still my friend so you better not do too much. But, before last night I had decided that I was okay with missing out on a year or two of contests just to stay with you. And while I would like to go up against my rivals again, I'm okay if you want to go someplace different. It is funny that you thought of Drew in particular though. I probably should have told you sooner but because of what happened last night…either way, he actually asked me to travel with him in Sinnoh the coming year. He was using the idea that as a trainer you were a bad teacher to try and convince me that he would be the better instructor. And…"

"And you chose to stay with me and not him, right?" Ash finished up for her.

"Guess that part's obvious by now, isn't it?"

"Yeah but I also knew about this yesterday. So naturally I knew your answer even before I confessed. Funny thing was that it didn't calm my nerves as much as I was thinking it would."

Caught off guard by the fact he knew about it, May's mind was already starting to point towards Dawn as the culprit. Still unsure of how things went with the last secret she shared with the blunette, if this one proved true she vowed never to confide anything like that with the girl ever again.

"Dawn told you, didn't she?"

"Not quite." Reaching into his pocket, the trainer pulled out the letter that Drew had written for him. "I got it straight from Drew's mouth. He wrote me a letter explaining his offer, as well as the results and a few words to me personally."

Giving off a sigh in relief, May was rather embarrassed that she blamed Dawn that fast. The brunette just never thought that Drew would ever say it directly to Ash.

"And what were those few personal words?" She asked.

Watching as Ash let go of letter, the piece of paper quickly got caught up by the wind and floated own towards the vast expanse of Viridian Forest below them.

"Nothing important, but he did kinda infer to try and get you to come to Sinnoh. If you want we can put it off a little more to relax or something. Heck, even if you want to take a long break from coordinating you just have to tell me. You don't have to worry about any decision on my part, I'm in no rush and will follow wherever you go."

"Thanks Ash," she told him. "But, like I said we can just go where you want to."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Ash, I'm sure. Now don't make me repeat myself again."

As May finished what she was saying, Ash started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing really, I just think that we are having our first argument as a couple."

Shoving him lightly, as not to disturb Pidgeot's flying, May put up a fake sense of annoyance.

"I don't think that this could be really considered an argument, but what made you think I already agreed we were a true couple."

"You just did," he said with a grin. "I can read you like a book May."

"You're only reading in between the lines," the brunette countered. "But I have no problem introducing you as my boyfriend."

Holding onto him all that much tighter, May was glad that if anything he was the first one to capture her heart. In tightening her grip she could start to feel his heartbeat. Just like hers was when she told him her feelings, it seemed calm and steady.

"And I'll suffer through introducing my girlfriend I guess." Laughing as he felt her squeeze him as hard as she could, Ash finally felt at peace from everything that he had been going through for the past week. And being up here with May made everything seem as though a filter had been removed from his eyes and it looked even better than ever. "Brock was right about one thing though."

"What was that?"

"The world changes when you find somebody you love, doesn't it?"

"Almost like you found a part of yourself that was missing, right? It sure does Ash, it sure does."

"You know, you still haven't given me what you really want for your third wish," the trainer said after a few moments of silence.

"I don't know what you're talking about; I told you my three wishes," May answered from her spot behind him. "I just don't expect that some of them will be granted any time soon. You now have several promises to not go too far from me as we move on, so I expect that you'll take good care of me."

Slightly taken aback but the sudden realization that he now had four long-term promises with her, the idea wasn't as embarrassing as he was somewhat thinking. It was partially the fact that this was the second girl to completely outwit him in the last week, but also that none of what he promised was something that he would break without a fight. And the other part was that she was somewhat serious about her final wish.

"Same here Angel," Ash finally said to her while leaning his head up against hers as Pidgeot continued his silent flight across the star covered sky.

* * *

><p>Hope you all enjoyed the story to the very end. I originally went into this with the idea that I wanted to make one more story that could compete with <em>Reaching for the Stars<em> before I retire from writing. While I'm not entirely sure if that retirement is right around the corner, I think I achieved my goal. In one sense I know I did because this story has been on a scale I'm not used to and is currently one of the longest Advanceshipping stories on the site, even if I still can't come close to the top two. With that length I also wanted to incorporate a more natural growth of relationships between Ash and May, one that grew from pure friendship to what it ended with. A lofty goal but there was a certain fic that I wanted to emulate in that way and while it's still far longer than mine I pulled it off at least somewhat.

Now for the part that many of you probably were wondering about. Yes I know that I probably could have continued on with much this much longer back into Sinnoh and including the Elite Four battles and Cynthia but I've never been good at coming up with ideas for after they've already become a couple. The focus of the story would change to one more of action than romance and that is probably my biggest weak-point as a writer. I just can't keep an action story going, I can do it in bursts like battles and such but it just doesn't feel as though the story is interesting enough for my readers and becomes boring. That's not to say I might not try but don't hope too hard for it.

So after over one million keystrokes, several months of writing, and tens of thousands of views, _The Puppeteer's Wishes _has finally come to an end. I hope that you all enjoyed the story and that it met at least a few of your expectations. While I can't say that this is my masterpiece or the story that I'll be represented by in the time to come, overall I'm satisfied by how it turned out. But in the end all that really matters is how you, the reader, feel about it so don't be shy to leave one last review.

Thanks for reading.


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